From the Spiral
by Tails-is-pwnage
Summary: "From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late. [Updates Weekly - On Sundays] [ON HIATUS - Reason: Hosting 'The Spiral Wakes!]
1. Prologue

**From the Spiral - Prologue**

 _"_ _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

What if you could create new, powerful life?

"Such godly powers should be reserved to the gods", some may say. But should it really…? Others may question this statement, depending on the situation…

A debate would surely break out. Should you accept a power like that? To be able to create new life?

This debate broke out one week ago, between members of the Ravenwood Academy facility. Terrible events had recently unfolded… With Malistaire gone and the Spiral in danger, the teachers and staff from the most prestigious academy in all the Spiral found themselves in a unique predicament.

Ten figures stood in a large laboratory. Machinery sparked and potions bubbled within the somewhat dim room; the lead scientist smirked, standing on top of his desk and leaning on his wooden cane, tipping his purple hat.

Yes, Professor Balestrom was quite proud of his lab, which he had built under the Storm School. It was fit for an eccentric genius such as himself! And it was this eccentric genius who brought up the topic that was under debate at this very moment. He had found a way to solve all their problems.

However…

"This is foolish. If we utilize this power now to stop Malistaire, we are only opening ourselves up to more problems." Cyrus Drake objected. "Another 'source of almighty power' will only lure in more evil to this academy."

"Well do _you_ have any other ideas?" Malorn Thorn, one of the best necromancers the school had now that Malistaire was out of the picture, scoffed. He wasn't afraid of Cyrus, despite the Myth teacher's reputation as the strictest of the facility. "I don't think we have a choice here!"

"We only have enough resources to go through three trials." Mr. Lincoln clarified, his feathery head nodding as he examined his clipboard. "So long as we burn any trace of this 'experiment' after it's over… Nobody could replicate it."

"But we would know how it works." Cyrus hissed. "Any one of us could become the next Malistaire with this new power!"

"Ohohoho!" Professor Balestrom grinned, tipping his top hat cooly. "That is where you are wrong, my fine fellow!"

He hopped off his desk, pointing at the Myth teacher with his cane. "The proof is in the pudding! You see-"

"Dude, you aren't Sherlock Bones." Malorn deadpanned, interrupting Balestrom, who seemed a little disgruntled at the objection.

"I-I was just trying to sound 'cool'..." Balestrom sighed, receiving a 'tsk' from Lydia Greyrose, the fairy which was floating near the exit of the room.

"If that was an Ice pun, dearie, it wasn't funny." She smirked, giggling to herself. Dalia Falmea, who was standing next to Lydia, giggled as well, enjoying a moment of silliness amongst all the serious fighting. Balestrom sighed, adjusting his top hat.

"Anyway… Point is, we only have enough stardust for three trials, as Mr. Lincoln pointed out." Balestrom nodded. "Technically, we have enough for six, but… We'll need the extra stardust to keep the first three subjects alive. And you do remember how hard it is to get stardust, don't you, Cyrus?"

The Myth teacher scoffed, crossing his arms. "So difficult that only the horned fool knows how to collect it, yes?"

"Exactly!" Diego, the Arena Master, grinned, injecting himself into the conversation. "I never even told Balestrom where I found the source! I'm the only one who knows! I, the great Diego, am the sole holder of-"

"So this plan won't have any dangerous side effects, will it?" Moolinda Wu, the new Life school teacher, worriedly questioned the professor. "It would be absolutely horrible if we created wizards with illnesses, o-or disabilities that they have to live the rest of their life with, or-"

"Don't worry, this is sure to work perfectly!" Balestorm grinned while Diego sulked in the background. "No terrible disabilities to live with, no illnesses, and best of all, it doesn't harm the environment!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Moolinda Wu praised, pleased. Malorn held back a groan of disgust at the cow's insistence upon the project's safety.

"Whatever, if it's gonna help, let's do it!" The former Death student grinned. "Everyone's in favor now, right?"

"I don't believe this will end well." Cyrus spoke dryly, still skeptical. "... But it seems we have no choice."

"Why don't we ask the most important person here?" Dalia suggested, smirking. "What say you, Headmaster Ambrose…?"

All eyes focused on the oldest person in the room. He was using a large, wooden cane to hold himself up straight, and was running a hand through his long, white beard. The headmaster of Ravenwood, Merle Ambrose, had the final say on this project. He opened his eyes slowly, prepared to give judgement upon the issue.

Did they even have the right to make new life?

Even if the situation was grim, was this the right way out? They had many bright minds at Ravenwood, perhaps they could send them on this mission…

...

"Project 101 may begin." Headmaster Ambrose decided. "If we can create powerful wizards through this to help defend the Spiral… If we have even the smallest chance of going about this without risking our students' lives… We must take it."

Professor Balestrom's eyes lit up.

Cyrus Drake scowled.

Diego waved his lance around like a goofball.

Project 101 began.

* * *

Project 101 was an attempt at creating new life. But not any ordinary new life… Project 101 would create masters of magic. These masters would, hopefully, be able to trump Malistaire and save the Spiral… And, perhaps, they could lead normal lives afterwards…

Plus, it'd be like having children for the leader of the experiment, right?

Professor Balestrom had no interest in romance; so it was only natural that he didn't have a spouse at this time, nor did he feel he ever would. But he always did want children. Kids that would listen to him all the time, who he could give wise advice to, and who could help him with his experiments.

The 'listen' part was the most important; Balestorm always wanted an excuse to talk someone's ear off for hours and hours… He had a lot to say, after all!

So this experiment excited him not only because he may save the Spiral with it, but also because it would grant him one of his more sentimental wishes. The frog grinned, tipping his top hat as he kept as his work in his lab, now alone…

But he wouldn't be alone for long.

Oh, no. Soon, he would be joined by three others…

* * *

At present time, the experiment had already succeeded. Three new lives had been brought into the Spiral, and, surprisingly, the facility had managed to hide this fact rather well. Moolinda Wu and Balestrom were terrible liars, and Lydia gossiped far too much to her favorite students; it seemed almost impossible to keep a secret between all of the facility members, but, somehow, they had pulled through. And now, it was time for an evaluation of the students they had created…

Balestrom had insisted they pick their own first names, but their last names were his idea. 'Apprentice', he felt, was a genius family name; after all, they were all going to be apprentices of certain schools of magic!

Everyone else questioned Balestrom's creativity.

Anyway, as they were allowed to pick their own names, the three came to the arena prepared with their answers. Being led by the Storm teacher himself, the students glanced around Wizard City's grand arena with glittering curiosity. The first student was very tall, seemingly above six feet, with a thin yet strong physique. He wore mostly white wizard's clothing, having white skin and emerald eyes to match his attire. He had short, white hair, which was more than likely dyed. He had a white, hooded cloak, a white shirt, white pants, and white shoes with a long, wooden staff; he looked like a literal 'white mage' of sorts. He smiled softly, seeming the kind, courageous type.

The second student was drastically different. With short, black hair and mostly black wizard's attire, it was clear this man was the 'Yin' to the first student's 'Yang'. He had a black robe, hood down, with yellow buttons and threads to outline the outfit. He also had long, black pants and black boots. Instead of a long staff, he brought a black rod with a blue crystal at the tip. He was tall, but not as tall as the first student... He was grinning, confident, yet seeming somewhat mischievous…

The final student was much shorter than the other two. He was only a few inches over five feet, and he seemed to be a little younger than the other students. He gripped onto his metal staff cautiously, overwhelmed by the large arena. He had short, light brown hair that was covered with his pointed, tan wizard's hat. He, too, had emerald eyes, which almost looked like they were going to water with how nervous he was. However, he kept strong, marching onwards in his tan boots with tan pants and a tan wizard's coat with a white shirt.

"First order of business after this: new outfits." Dalia was the first to comment as soon as the three subjects were led into the grassy arena. "Professor, don't you think this is a little plain…?"

"What? I let them pick a color!" Balestrom defend himself, hopping over to the other eight members of the Ravenwood facility. Cyrus Drake refused to participate in this, so that left the other six teachers, the headmaster, the registrar, and the arena master.

Diego grinned, leaving the Storm and Fire teachers to bicker over clothing as he walked towards the three young men. "Wizards! Give me your names!"

The rest of the arena became silent. Diego might've been made fun of quite a bit by most of… Everyone… But everyone had to admit that he had a mastery over his voice, especially when in the arena. He could command legions of wizards, some speculated…But those legion of wizards would be doomed, because they'd be under Diego's command, and Diego wasn't viewed as the most competent guy around.

"Gizmo Apprentice." The student garbed in white responded with a smile. "Happy to be here, sir."

Gizmo was probably the most excited out of the three creations to be here, actually. He felt that becoming a wizard that may save the Spiral would be a great honor… Even if he didn't understand most of that stuff yet. But, hey, it was exciting! Gizmo was going to be a part of a grand adventure! The very thought of such a thing made him smile with joy.

"Garrett." The second shrugged. "Don't forget it, guy; I'm not saying it twice."

Garrett grinned. He wasn't as excited as his brother, but, hey, the whole 'saving the Spiral thing' sounded like it might be interesting. Maybe. Honestly, he didn't care; Garrett had only been around for about four days now, so he didn't really have a huge handle on things yet. All he knew was that apparently he owed his existence to some annoying frog and, to repay the favor, he had to kick some ass.

Garrett was ready to kick some ass, by the way. Very ready.

"T-Tip, sir!" The third announced, seeming as if he was hiding behind his staff. He was a bit scared of all these people… He didn't know any of them, besides Mr. Balestrom…

"Tip? Erm…. That isn't a name." Malorn pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"I-It isn't…? B-but I thought it sounded nice…" Tip frowned, glancing downwards. He seemed a little dejected. Gizmo smiled softly, walking over to him and patting his head, causing the boy to look up and smile back, feeling a little better.

"I think it's a wonderful name." The white mage defended. "Just as fine as Gizmo or Garrett."

"Nah, my name's definitely the best. But you two are cool, too." Garrett laughed.

"Th-thank you…" Tip Apprentice beamed happily. Professor Albert and Moolinda Wu, who were sitting next to each other, exchanged a glance.

"Balance?" Wu asked.

"Balance." Albert responded with a smile. "No doubt about it."

"So Gizmo's probably Fire and Garrett might be Death." Malorn observed. "Right?"

"We'll see!" Lydia smiled. "Gizmo seems more like Ice to me!"

While the teachers theorised, Diego got to work."Wonderful! Now that you three have names, we will focus on the next important thing! Your schools!"

"Now, normally, we would use the Book of Secrets for this… But we believe it will not resonate with you. Instead, we will discover what spells you hold deep within your hearts!" Diego smiled. "These spells come from the school you are destined to master… Gizmo, why don't you go first?"

"Of course, sir." Gizmo smiled, taking a step forward. Diego swiftly noticed that the boy was holding his staff like a sword, and that his posture was almost perfectly identical to that of a swordsman's… But that may just be a coincidence. This boy was supposed to be a wizard, after all.

"Let us begin!"

* * *

"Nothing?" Dalia's eyes widened.

"Absolutely nothing at all?" Mr. Lincoln stood, shocked.

"Gizmo and Garrett show no signs of being magically talented at all." Diego reported once again, shaking his head. "However… There is hope! I've discovered something even better than magic within them!"

"And what's that?" Malorn asked.

"Swordsmanship and archery!" Diego grinned. "You should have seen Gizmo! A master of the sword and shield, I tell you, and he's only existed for three days! He may even be able to best me in a tournament! And Garrett's accuracy with a crossbow is beyond comprehension! The two are ridiculously talented!... Just not in magic."

"Woo! We're awesome!" Garrett cheered, grinning as he held a wooden crossbow packed with training bolts in his right hand. He was wearing an entirely new outfit now. He had a black cloak on with a dark green tunic and dark green pants. He had dark black shoes and black gloves. He also had a glint in his yellow eyes as he held his crossbow, clearly proud of his talent.

"I would enjoy that spar sometime, Diego!" Gizmo offered, just as happy. He was wielding a long, steel sword in his right hand with a steel square shield in his left hand. He had light, white steel armor with iron gauntlets. Although lacking in quite a bit of armor, as he was traveling light, it seemed his offensive capabilities were something to be feared…

Now if only such skills could actually help in a Wizard's Dueling Circle.

"The only boy remaining is Tip!" Diego smiled.

"He has to be Storm, Fire, Myth, or Death… He has to be. Anything else, and I don't think we have a chance." Albert grimaced. "Gizmo and Garrett surely can't help, can they?"

"Let's just wait and see." Balestrom eyed Diego seriously, waiting patiently for what he had to say next.

"I will say this: I have never felt more powerful in my life!" Diego laughed. "I bet that, with that boy by my side, I could even beat one of you in a magical duel!"

"Balance." Moolinda Wu caught on quickly.

"Correct!" The arena master smirked. "And with an affinity for Ice and Life magic, too!"

Unfortunately, a Balance student was not what everyone was hoping for. With two out of three of the subjects not being able to fight within a WDC, and the last only excelling in support-related schools of magic… The future looked bleak.

Tip, Gizmo, and Garrett stood in the middle of the arena, however, looking a little proud of each other. Gizmo pat Tip's head again, making him feel a little more confident, although not too much. Garrett also did well in keeping their spirits high, joking about the teachers as they discussed the issue. The three did indeed act like brothers, even if they weren't truly related in any way.

"So now what?" Malorn sighed. "We're doomed. We lost the luck of the draw."

"Not yet." Headmaster Ambrose finally spoke up, smiling lightly. "I'd say we won the lottery."

"What?" Dalia blinked. "How? Two of them can't even help fight…"

"Ohohoho! That's where you're wrong-" Balestrom was about to go on another one of his Sherlock rambles, but he was quickly interrupted by none other than Diego.

"Athames!" The unicorn proclaimed.

"Athames?" Moolinda Wu blinked.

"Athames." Headmaster Ambrose nodded. "I hand those out every day to new guards. They're made to combat the Wizard's Dueling Circles…"

"So, basically… Tip can activate a Wizard's Dueling Circle with an enemy, and then Gizmo and Garrett can just attack from outside the circle with Athames?" Malorn deduced.

"Exactly!" Balestrom piped up. "The day is not lost, ladies and gentlemen! Malistaire will be defeated before the end of the week!"

"I will order the best athames I can for them." Headmaster Ambrose offered. "But in the meanwhile… Mr. Lincoln, for Tip, can you have him registered as an official student in Ravenwood?"

"Of course!" Mr. Lincoln perked up, having been taking notes this whole time. "It will be easy! He will be in classes tomorrow!"

"Wonderful. Do we have a dorm open for three students?" The Headmaster asked. The registrar began flipping through his clipboard.

"Why, yes, we do!" The crane replied happily.

"Gizmo and Garrett should come here to train every day with me while Tip is having classes." Diego suggested. "After a week of honing their skills, they should be ready."

"Don't forget, they should make lots of friends!" Lydia smiled, floating around the other teachers. "We can't have them locked away in their dorm the entire evening!"

"As long as those friends don't get involved, I'm cool with that." Malorn grinned. The facility were filled a sense of hope and dedication to their newfound plan. They just had to hone the three wizard's skills and send them off…

… Sadly enough, however, it may not be as simple as that anymore. As soon as Lydia Greyrose mentioned 'friends', Headmaster Ambrose had a feeling that, perhaps, this adventure would not be as simple as they may want it to be.

Other students, as he feared, may end up getting involved…

But there was nothing more he could do to prevent such a fate. For now, all the Headmaster could ask for was the safety of the Spiral. Because as the three brothers bonded in the arena, six others, destined to become intertwined with this adventure, happily ate lunch together without a single clue about what was in store.

This was the beginning of a grand adventure, shared by nine young souls.


	2. Chapter 1-1: The Golem Court

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-1**

 _"_ _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

It was a day after the events in the arena. Wizard City was still at peace, although many rumors spread around about the future. Simply walking around Ravenwood Academy would cause one to hear about five different stories about how Malistaire may try to take over the Spiral or something silly like that. Not many people did know what Malistaire was up to, besides the facility and the 'subjects' of Balestrom's experiment. However, there was one person who knew the full truth...

Neil Frost exited the Ice School, putting up his light blue hoodie. He rubbed his dark hands together, letting out a sigh of relief; although he was very used to the cold, that classroom did, at times, feel like a freezer all on its own. He had little reason to complain, however; Neil did feel quite at home in there, reading and learning more and more about Ice magic.

Yes, the Ice student was a bit of a bookworm. Well, no, no 'bit' about it; he was a complete bookworm who read just about everything he could get his hands on for the sole purpose of learning. Neil was easily the smartest person in his class because of this fact. He knew just about everything there was to know about the Spiral, philosophy, the sciences and the magics… You name it, Neil probably had a good idea of what it was and how to explain it. He was a walking encyclopedia.

And because of all this knowledge, Neil was intelligent, thoughtful, and strategic. In the arena battles that he and his friends sometimes participated in, he was always the strategist of the group, keeping everyone in line and making the winning plans to use everyone's strengths and cover their weaknesses. Because of this, he was the top of his class in Ice, where intelligence was a key factor in mastering the magic.

The somewhat short boy made his way from the Ice School over to the Fire School, which was right next door. He found that this was the best way to warm up after having been in the Ice School for so long. Neil gave a slight nod to Bernie, the Fire School's tree, as he made his way down the street; it had become a tradition for him, every day, to work in the Ice School until a certain time, walk down this specific street, give a nod to Bernie to be polite, and circle around Bartleby to exit the academy.

And, because of this tradition, Neil always had to circle around the giant chasm in Ravenwood.

Malorn Ashthorn usually scolded students for getting too close to the chasm, but by now, he already knew that Neil was capable of not falling to his death. So Neil Frost passed the Death tutor, who was explaining a couple of tricks to a newbie wearing all black.

Sporting one's school colors was a huge tradition in Ravenwood, Neil observed. Even he did it. Not that he really cared about having school spirit or anything, he just liked the color blue.

Letting go of that tangent of thought, Neil carefully walked around the chasm where the Death School once was. He hadn't seen it himself, but he knew that this was the fault of Malistaire, who had gone mad after a certain tragedy had befallen him…

The Ice wizard frowned. Perhaps it was best not to think about that.

Making his way to the Myth School, Neil Frost stood still, checking his analog watch. The second hand clicked away silently, stared at by the Ice wizard's sharp, cold brown eyes.

He raised his left hand in the air, showing five digits. He counted down. Four digits. Three. Two. One.

As soon as he ended up making a fist with his hand, a boy draped with yellow clothing burst out of the Myth School, cheering. "Wooo!" He grinned happily, twirling around. "Freeeeedooooooom!"

Neil sighed. The boy who had just burst out of the classroom was Ivan Mythblade, resident 'lazy dork' of the academy. Ivan wore a yellow hoodie with a white T-shirt, alongside yellow jeans and white sneakers. Clearly he wasn't dressed for magic… But at least he was dressed. Sometimes he went to class in his pajamas.

Neil seriously wondered how this guy was top of his class.

Yes, that was right. Ivan Mythblade, the laziest boy on campus, was top of his class in Myth. Despite not being a hard worker, Ivan had serious potential and talent. His creativity skyrockets above all other Myth students', and despite the more difficult Myth spells taking ages for others to master, Ivan mastered them easily. Consequently, with no grades in assignments and projects, but all '100's in tests and examinations, he managed to beat his peers. 'Cyrus is a jerk about grades, anyway', Ivan would say, 'Why bother turning stuff in if he's just gonna give it an 'F' 'cause he doesn't like your handwriting?'.

Because of all of this, nobody ever tried talking to Ivan besides his closest friends. Not out of jealousy or disgust, but because they thought he might be some sort of supernatural being with a ton of powers that could destroy anyone who bothered to look at him funny. But Neil Frost knew better; Ivan was just a talented, lazy idiot.

"Neil, bro! It was terrible in there!" Ivan cried out, hugging the Ice student dramatically. "I got hit with a ruler, like, ten times!"

Neil pushed Ivan off of him, shaking his head. Perhaps if Ivan didn't sleep all the time during class, he wouldn't be in detention… And perhaps if he didn't sleep all the time during detention, he wouldn't be hit with a ruler.

Not that Neil felt like suggesting that to Ivan for the tenth time.

Ivan was unphased, giving out a loud yawn. "Man, I feel like I could take a century-long nap…" The Myth student grinned, pulling out his wand. "Are we meeting up in Golem Court again today…?"

Neil nodded silently. One thing that should be mentioned about him is that, despite being a chatterbox in battle, always talking strategy, outside of the WDC, he was always quiet and distant from the others. He was a very 'cold' person, one may say.

"Cool…" Ivan stretched, groaning softly as he tried to wake himself up somewhat. "... Talos!"

With a small wave of his wand, a large, brown, stone being was called into existence. He had the shape of a human, but was much larger than the average teenage student, and wielded a stone sword. This was Talos, one of the most powerful Myth minions there were… Probably. Honestly, Ivan figured there was better out there, perhaps in some other world, but, for now, Talos was the best of the best.

"Sup bro?" He grinned, fist-pumping the golem, who returned the gesture nonchalantly. Neil still couldn't believe that Ivan taught him to do that. The Ice student questioned it once, but Ivan explained it having to do something with 'bonding'... So Ivan was bonding with a golem.

His choice of friends was just plain strange.

Talos picked Ivan up, placing the lazy boy on his shoulder as the minion walked off with him. Neil followed close behind, ignoring the stares of any other students that happened to be around at the time. Talos and Ivan were oddly close, and, as a result, Talos tended to carry the lazy student around, allowing Ivan to get some rest on the minion as whatever group he was with walked to their destination.

So they walked, heading outside of the academy, ready to meet up with their friends once more.

* * *

Ravenwood was a very prestigious school. Having an adept understanding of magic was required simply to apply to attend the academy. Even if one has that understanding, there was a social aspect to consider; Ravenwood was made up of mostly humans. If you were any other creature, you may have a hard time 'fitting in' within the school of 'normal' humans…

And this was definitely the case for Calem Lifearrow, a Life student in Ravenwood. Hailing from Grizzleheim, the sharpshooter was caught by a scouter for the academy who noticed a grand affinity for Life magic within him. With no real ties to the world, especially due to an ambiguous past that he himself hardly managed to understand most of the time, Calem immediately agreed to apply for application to the academy.

What he didn't know is that this academy wasn't too accepting of large, crossbow-wielding centaurs.

Yes, fair-haired, tan-skinned Calem was a centaur. Having a brown horse's body with a black tail, he was miles away from what everyone else was. When he first came to the school, Calem was confused by the things everyone said to him, unaware that they were meant to be insults and jokes. He eventually caught on, but by then, he'd learned to ignore it; Moolinda Wu was very nice to him and taught him to ignore his more hurtful peers. She sympathized with the centaur's plight, especially since she herself was not a human.

And Calem took her advice well. He normally did ignore all of the insults and jokes, but, one day, within Ravenwood, it got out of hand. A Fire student and a Storm student were on the verge of attacking him, trying to get some sort of rise or reaction out of him; and, well, the threatening use of magic that Calem hardly understood was enough to cause the centaur to waver and become unsure of himself.

"L-look, I don't want any trouble-"

Before he could hardly say anything… Something miraculous happened. Within nearly an instant, a figure cloaked in black appeared in front of him, turned towards the two bullies with a threatening, emerald staff. The figure held out their free hand, beckoning the two, as if offering to fight.

Before Calem knew what was going on, the two ran off, screaming out in surprise. A few other students, who had gathered around the scene but hadn't done anything, began to run as well, as if fearing that they may receive whatever punishment the cloaked figure had in store for the two bullies if they, too, did not scatter.

The area was cleared, and the centaur, shocked, was only able to mutter a 'thank you'. This single phrase caused the figure to turn around, dropping their hood…

And revealing a purple-haired, pale white, human girl. Just like all the others, but… In Calem's eyes, this one was truly kind. Instead of insulting him, this human actually stuck up for him…

"They had it coming…" The girl scoffed, flipping her hair with an air of disgust. "I've wanted an excuse to do that to them for a long time… Assholes…"

The centaur grinned. From that moment onwards, he knew he might have finally made a friend.

And, now, it was a tradition to see that friend every day, at the arena. Samantha Nightspear always waited for him on a bench in Unicorn Way's Park, near the arena, so they could meet up and head inside. So far, since they met one year ago, Calem hadn't missed a single day. Even on important holidays, they'd spend at least an hour together in this arena… And, with so much time being spent together, Lifearrow would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her at all. A relationship between a human and a centaur was a pretty dumb idea, he figured, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder…

"Snap out of it." Calem was suddenly brought back to the real world by the snap of Samantha's fingers. The girl was also tugging the back of his green T-shirt a bit, trying to catch his attention. "Earth to horse boy~"

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm paying attention… What's up?" He asked his 'passenger'. Samantha was sitting on his horse body, being carried through the Commons. The pair had just trained in the arena for a while, and were currently making it to the Golem Court, where their group of friends met regularly. Usually the trip there was silent, but, today, Samantha had something to say.

"Bully kid, starboard." The Death student leaned against Calem's back, pointing towards the gate to Ravenwood. There was a boy wearing mostly tan wizard's clothing there, standing by hopelessly as a tall Death wizard examined his 'newly acquired' staff.

"Damn, this thing looks powerful… Thanks, loser." The taller kid grinned, looking down at the Balance mage. Tip's eyes watered, uncertain as to what to do; he didn't know people could be this mean…

"Th-that's mine, though…" He whimpered, earning a harsh glare from the bully.

"Not anymore." He asserted, grinning once more as he decided to push the boy to the ground. Tip let out a yelp, landing on his back; he felt like outright crying… But, as soon as that happened, his saviors arrived.

Calem had already pulled out his wooden crossbow, already set with an iron bolt, and was pointing it at the Death wizard. Samantha had her emerald staff out, looking pretty badass as she sat on Calem as if he was her steed and her staff was her sword.

"Give back the staff." Calem ordered, glaring at the student, who turned around to see the crossbow and staff pointed at him. Eyes widening, the bully dropped Tip's staff, running into Ravenwood. 'Just like last time…' Calem thought, shaking his head.

Samantha hopped off of Calem, grabbing the staff from off the ground. She could immediately tell why the Death student wanted it; it was a very unique staff, crafted out of wood, but with an arch of metal at the tip which held, interestingly enough, a small, floating orb. It glowed a bright red.

"Hey. This is yours." She shook her head, holding the mysterious staff out to the kid on the ground. Tip shook slightly, still a little startled, but slowly realized that these two weren't here to hurt him as the first person was.

He gently sat up, taking the staff; he stared at it in wonder, as if it was something he never thought he'd see again. "Th-thank you so much…" The boy smiled lightly, wiping his face free of tears now that the horrible man was gone. He looked up at the two students with a teary smile.

"Hey, no need to get emotional about it." Calem laughed with a smile, clopping over to Tip and offering his human hand. "C'mon, get up."

Tip looked up at Calem, the same sense of wonder still surrounding him. He'd never seen a centaur before… Then again, he'd never seen humans before, either. Or talking birds. Or talking cows or dogs or unicorns…

Yeah, it didn't take Tip too long to get used to the fact that this was going to be a world of surprises. He grabbed Calem's hand, being pulled up with it, onto his feet. Now that the boy was standing again, it became obvious to the other two why he was bullied. Not only did he have a fancy, expensive-looking magic staff, but the boy also seemed pretty short and weak. Just the kind of target that the bullies around Ravenwood liked.

"I-Is everyone around Ravenwood like that…?" Tip asked suddenly, grimacing. "E-everyone just seems so… Distant… And kind of scary…"

"Eh, some of them can be like that." Calem shrugged it off. "We're cool, though, no worries!"

"I'm Samantha Nightspear." The Death student introduced herself, staring curiously at the Balance wizard. She hadn't seen him around campus before, and, with that staff, he certainly stood out… Her curiosity hungered for answers.

"Tip Apprentice!" The boy smiled. "A-at your service!"

"Tip? That's… Kinda a weird name…" Calem raised an eyebrow; however, out of all the millions of worlds in the Spiral, the centaur figured there had to be at least one that had some pretty weird names…

"Y-yeah, so I've heard…" Tip frowned, looking downwards. At this point, he knew he had to keep his 'origins' a secret, so he didn't say anything else. Ambrose himself asked him to blend in and act like a normal student; he said that, if Tip revealed what he was, people would 'treat him differently', and that the facility didn't want that.

For some reason, despite being given a longer, more detailed explanation of the situation, Tip focused on the words 'treat you differently'. How would they treat him differently…? He wanted to ask, but he didn't have the courage to. So, for now, he simply assumed the worst. If he said anything, he may be treated horribly…

"Well, that aside, I'm Calem Lifearrow." The Life student smiled. "Hey, you're Balance, right? Not many people around here take that school, since it's pretty new here in Ravenwood…"

"R-Right, it doesn't even have a classroom yet, right…?" Tip confirmed, speaking softly. "Mr. Arthur's pretty nice, though… I think they should make him a classroom soon."

"So you're Balance." Samantha gathered, as he hadn't answered the question. The boy blinked, realizing his mistake.

"A-ah, yes, sorry… I am." He nodded. "I-It's very nice to meet both of you, by the way…"

"Yeah, it is! Sam, y'know what this means?" Calem grinned, looking over to the Death student. "We can kinda 'complete' our group with this guy! We'll have someone from every school!"

"..." Although Nightspear didn't really care about this 'complete the group' thing, she had to admit that bringing this boy to the Golem Court with them might be interesting. After all, she still had a few questions about him, and it wasn't like they had anything else to do… She gave a light nod of approval to Calem, who excitedly turned to Tip.

"What do you say? We have a group of friends at the Golem Court you can meet." Calem smiled. "You'll love them!"

"R-really…?" Tip's eyes shined for a moment with curiosity. Friends… Right, Lydia reminded him that he had to make friends. This was his chance! "I'd love to!" He beamed, holding his staff to his chest. He treated the thing like a teddy bear…

"Awesome! C'mon!" The centaur gestured to Tip to follow as Samantha hopped on Calem's back, riding him as he made his way down the street of the Commons, now followed by the curious Balance wizard.

Interesting how a single decision can seal someone's fate. The moment Calem decided to invite Tip to be a part of their group of friends, he had added six more people to the Apprentice family's adventure… Their fates had become intertwined through the power of a single, simple offering…

* * *

"I hate being second! I swear I could beat that dork, I just… Ugh… What's her name? N… Ni… Nee… Na…" A girl garbed in purple snapped her fingers, trying to spark a memory. She was sitting down at a wooden lunch table in the middle of a small park. Her friend, who was sitting next to her, giggled in amusement.

"Maybe you'd be beating her if you could remember things like her name." The friend, dressed in red, smiled. "Don't get so worked up over it, k, Grace? You've got plenty of time to rise to the top!"

"I have to get to the top now, though! It's annoying the hell out of me that I'm not the top student of my class, but that lazy asshole is…" Grace grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Grace Stormraven wasn't jealous. How could anyone be jealous of a lazy guy who has his minion carry him everywhere? She was just frustrated. For as hard as she tried, she couldn't reach the spot where two out of five of her friends were… It was her damned memory. She couldn't remember terms or names for the life of her… Like that bitch, Ni… Nicky? Neecan? N… The Storm wizard groaned, giving up.

Her friend smiled softly, patting her on the back. "Hey, like I said, don't worry about it! It's not even like Ivan's smart, he's just absurdly talented, and nobody else in Myth bothers to try hard enough."

"He doesn't try at all and he's on top! That's just bullshit…" Grace grumbled, still angry. "I have to work just to be second in my class…"

"And you're going to work to be first!" The Fire wizard grinned. "You'll show them, Grace! Just don't get down about it!"

"..." Grace sighed. "Y-yeah, you're right, Brooke… Sorry."

Brooke gave her friend a soft hug from the side. "No problem!~ You can do it, girl!" She grinned, letting go and patting the Storm student on the shoulder. "Kick that top student's ass!"

Honestly, Brooke didn't really care whether or not Grace made it to the top; she just wanted her friend to be happy. Brooke Summersong was pretty easy-going so, despite the fact that she wasn't near the top of her class, she didn't let it bother her. Neil was just insanely smart and Ivan was just incredibly talented; she didn't draw those kinds of cards in life, so, she didn't let it get to her.

She cast a meeeaaaan Meteor, though. And that was practically the only spell she needed for now.

Grace shook her head, putting on a small smile. "Thanks… It's like you always know what to say to make me feel better." The Storm wizard laughed.

"I better. I've been your best friend for, like, four years now." Brooke leaned back, smiling and adjusting her pointed wizard's hat. "Hey, when are the others going to get here? It's been forever…"

"It's been five minutes, tops." Grace Stormraven shook her head. "Knowing them, Ivan's taking his sweet-ass time and Calem and Sam are off making out somewhere."

Her comments caused Brooke to giggle almost uncontrollably. "O-oh my god, we need new friends…" She teasingly spoke as she tried to stop laughing.

Grace grinned. "I pity whoever decides hanging out with this group's a good idea. We're like a dysfunctional family."

"We're still a family, though!~" Brooke reminded, letting out another, quiet laugh as she managed to calm herself down. "And I for one would love new members!"

"Woah, don't get too excited." The Storm wizard chuckled in reply. "Buuut… You're right, I guess. Having someone else would be interesting. Then I could make fun of them, too."

"You're terrible." Summersong smirked. "Ooh, here comes the hard worker and the lazy-ass!"

"I heard that!" Ivan complained, still sitting on Talos's shoulder as he and his summon walked into the Golem Court with Neil tailing behind. The Ice student gave a brief nod to Brooke and Grace before sitting on the opposite side of the table, pulling a light blue textbook out of his bag.

In Neil's mind, although these meetings did help him grow closer to his allies, he still needed to focus on his schoolwork, too. Every minute spent without his textbook was another minute he wasn't spending learning a new interesting fact about Ice magic. Perhaps he was a little obsessive over it, but, then again, this group was essentially filled to the brim with 'obsessive' people…

"That was the point, Ivan~" Grace pointed out teasingly, grinning. The Myth student frowned, being lowered onto the ground so he could sit to Neil's left.

"Whatevs.. I accept who I am… And that's a complete badass." Ivan smirked 'slyly'. But, really, he just looked kind of goofy.

"You wish." Brooke laughed, rolling her eyes. "Sooo, lemme guess- this time, it was for not turning in a report?"

"Nah, fell asleep in class… Not my fault, though… He teaches shit I already know…" Ivan leaned back, yawning as Talos slowly faded away. Ivan didn't feel like keeping him out anymore; however, it was common to see Talos out for entire conversations in the Golem Court, as Ivan felt it was a good way to 'bond'.

Again, weird choice of friends.

"Should you even be in this school anymore? You could just go get a job as a summoner somewhere, for some royal guard or something, and you'd do fine." Grace crossed her arms.

"But Graaaace…. That'd mean I can't sleep in whenever I want…." Ivan pouted, crossing his arms back. "Plus it'd be boring… And tiring…"

"Oh no. Work." Brooke sarcastically spoke. "C'mon, Ivan, you're not going to make it anywhere in life if you don't motivate yourself…."

"Who says I want to go anywhere? I'm happy where I am."

Before anyone could retort, the last of the group of friends entered the Golem Court…. And they brought another person.

"Yo!" Calem grinned, happy to see the rest of the group already here. "How's everybody doing?" As he asked that question, Samantha peered over his head, giving a small wave to the others.

"Awesome!" "Fine!" "Okay." "Tiiiiired…"

The answers he received were as diverse as ever.

"So, Sam and I brought a friend!" The centaur's eyes brightened as he took a step to the side (not an easy task on four hooves, but he'd gotten used to it). "This is Tip Apprentice, a new Balance student!"

The boy stood in a bit of shock; although he'd expected a few people, it hadn't occurred to him that he'd be meeting six new people at once…

Then again, this was kind of like when he met all that facility at once, right? But… That was with his brothers.. Here, he was on his own. No Gizmo or Garrett to back him up…

"Really?" Grace asked, not only because of his odd name, but also because they were in the middle of a school year. Why would this boy be accepted into the academy at such a weird time? Shouldn't he have been made to wait until at least the next term?

"Hi!" Brooke interrupted any chance Grace had of getting a response, however, as her eyes brightened up at the new face. And not only was it a new face, it was a new, cute face. Now that was rare.

"U-Um, hi…" Tip mumbled, his face a little pink as he tried to get some words out. He had to keep in mind that, not only was he meeting six people, but he was meeting six people that he couldn't be entirely honest with… With that kind of weight hanging over his head, Tip's nervousness was amplified, especially with all eyes on him…

Well, all eyes besides Ivan's, which were currently closed, with his head on the table. He was asleep.

"Come on, sit down! Tell us about yourself!" Brooke invited cheerily, patting the vacant seat to her right. Grace would've objected, wanting answers, but, frankly, it wasn't like her to make a big deal out of stuff like this, especially when the kid looked kinda scared out of his wits already, anyway. She would just have to ask later.

The Balance wizard nodded softly, walking towards the lunch table and circling around, sitting in the spot Brooke had motioned to. He looked up at everyone, still seeming to be the shortest here… Well, somewhat. He and Brooke were about the same height, though the girl looked a little taller.

"Go ahead; say anything you want." Calem smiled, taking his seat at the end of the table. Er, well, he didn't have a seat, really; he just sat on the ground, at the end of the table, since he'd just crush the ends of the table if he tried sitting on them, with his horse body and all. Samantha jumped off of him and sat next to Ivan, a little less comfortable, but figuring it'd have to do.

"... U-Um…. Thank you." Tip spoke the same words he did earlier. "C-Calem and Samantha scared off a man who was taking my Sidhe Staff… They're very nice…"

He mumbled the last bit, a little embarrassed, though that was all he knew to say. Neil rose an eyebrow at the term 'Sidhe Staff'; he had noticed the Balance wizard's odd magic staff just shortly after he was introduced, but the name intrigued him more than the thing itself. It sounded strange, almost exotic… Where could the boy have possibly gotten it from?

"Aww!" Grace grinned. "Nice one, Calem and Sam! I wish I could've been there.. I just love teaching the brats around this academy a few lessons…"

"Woah, down, girl." Brooke giggled, noticing the fire in the Storm student's eyes. "Ooh, wait; Tip, you're Balance, right?" She turned to the boy next to her again, seeming excited. Oh, yes, yes, yes! She'd always wanted to feel the power of a Balanceblade with her spells! There was Elemental Blades, Hex, and Elemental Traps, too, she remembered…

"Y-yeah… Th-the Headmaster said I was pretty good, s-so he let me enroll at a weird time…" The boy smiled softly, managing to tell the lie pretty well.

"You've got to show us your spells sometime, then." Grace grinned. "Balance students are really good with support, right? Damn, maybe with a bit of help from you, I can finally beat N.. Ni… Nee…"

"Nicole." Calem snapped his fingers, recalling the name for Grace.

"Yes! That bitch!" The Storm student cheered. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

"I deliver mail around here, remember? I know basically everything there is to know about how the school works." The centaur smiled with pride. "And with who's in it, who's important, who's doing really well… Yada yada."

"That just sounds stalkerish, dude…" Ivan yawned, slowly waking up from his nap to hear what Calem had said. This earned him a glare from the Life student, but nothing more.

"... U-um, anyway.. I-I'd be happy to…" The shy boy smiled, feeling a bit happier now that the group seemed to be accepting him pretty easily. Samantha and Neil still held some suspicions, but, with no reason to disturb the conversation or to be overly-suspicious, they shrugged any strange feelings off.

Samantha was definitely going to have to ask about that staff sometime, though…

"Sweet! What do you say we all go to the arena tomorrow? School's off, so we can practice all day if we want!" Calem suggested, excited. This caused Neil's eyes to light up, too, as he realized that, with a Balance wizard, there were so many more strategic options opening up to him… He'd have to get to writing down some tactics in his notebook later that night.

"Yessss!" Brooke beamed. "It'll be so much fun!"

"I'm in!" Grace smirked.

"Eh, sure…" Ivan stretched, ready to fall asleep again.

"What time?" Samantha asked. Calem thought for a moment.

"Eleven in the morning. Can you all make that?" He prodded. With a bunch of nods and 'sure!'s, he grinned, happy.

"I-I'll try not to drag you down!" Tip beamed, happy with himself. He knew lots of Balance spells, so-

... Wait. He couldn't show them off, however… If he showed that he was more competent in Balance magic than a new student in this academy should be, they might realize he was lying about something, or, at the very least, hiding something…

He'd have to think about it in the evening. In the meantime, he got a pat on the head from Brooke, who smiled reassuringly at him. "You won't be! Just get some rest and we'll see you there~"

Whether he wanted to or not, now, Tip Apprentice felt a need to join them on their trip to the arena. He still had to practice his magic, too, after all…

Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't be practicing in the way he was expecting, for, tomorrow, a sinister plan was to be put into action, setting in motion a series of events that would bind nine souls together for the next few weeks…


	3. Chapter 1-2: The Storm Lab

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-2**

 _"From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

Perhaps this was too early. The room was still dim, the clock on the wall said it was about seven o'clock, and he hardly heard a single voice outside… It was a day off for students in the academy, Gizmo knew, which meant most of them would be sleeping in, but, even still, the sudden change in habit for the entire academy had caught him off-guard.

He had been the only one to wake up early, while Garrett and Tip was still asleep in their separate beds. Tip was snuggling against a pillow, softly murmuring something, while Garrett was sleeping calmly, very rarely shifting and turning in his sleep to reach a more comfortable position.

Gizmo had to say, for the roughly half a week he'd been in existence, he hated sleeping. It forced him to miss a huge part of his newly-gained life, and he didn't want to suffer through it every night, even if it was very relaxing. So he went to sleep late and got up early. He ignored the sleepiness in his eyes as he got dressed, wanting to get out of the dorm soon.

Despite how odd it made him look, Gizmo also put on some of his light armor. He felt like he should always be prepared, just in case anything happened. In the short span of time he'd known his brothers, a certain instinct bonded him to them… A certain instinct that told him to protect them. So if anything happened, he had to be prepared to protect what he could only call his 'family'.

… Could they really be called 'family', though…?

Gizmo pondered this for a mere moment, but shook off the thought; of course they could. Family was a conceptual thing, he figured.

"Then again…" He muttered to himself, walking out the dorm with his clothes and armor on. He had his sword and shield strapped to his back. His thoughts now drifted to the information he was using and how he knew it was true. From the moment he was created, he knew how to communicate, he knew many social trends and instincts, he knew a bit of philosophy, quite a bit about the Spiral itself, and a little bit about himself… But how?

Walking through Ravenwood, the knight in training whistled softly. And even that was questionable. How was he whistling? How did he know how to whistle? Where did he gain that skill from? How did he even know it was called whistling? Whistling was certainly not natural to humans, was it? It was not an instinct; it was a social construct.

So many questions filled his head… And Gizmo Apprentice wanted answers.

Reaching the Storm School only prodded more questions however. He looked up, seeing a bunch of weird symbols on the archway into the building…

'Storm School - Professor Balestrom'

They were strange. Gizmo had learned that they were called 'letters', but he didn't know how to interpret them. Balestrom seemed shocked about this fact, and he had a right to be, considering how much else they'd known.

So why didn't he know about letters and words? How come he didn't know how to read and write?

Gizmo opened the doors to the Storm School, stepping inside. The classroom was barren, but he didn't care about that. His goal was the lab. Opening a door in the back of the purple classroom, Gizmo hopped into a hole in the floor, sliding down a metal ladder for only a short moment before ending up in the first place he'd ever seen.

The Storm Lab hadn't changed quite a bit. There were a few beds and things here, when Gizmo and his brothers were created, but those were more than likely to help them get settled into the world. They were gone now, and what was left was a whole lot of machinery, potions, gadgets, and things that he simply couldn't comprehend. And at the center of it all…

Was a frog.

"Ah, Gizmo, my boy!" Balestrom grinned, hopping over to a desk to put down a clipboard he had been examining before hopping over to the knight in training. "It's wonderful to see you! How was training?"

"It was excellent." Gizmo replied, smiling. "I'm not strong enough to beat Diego just yet, but I think that, with a few days, I may be able to."

"I'd pay good gold to see that!" Balestrom laughed. It wasn't that he didn't like Diego, it was just that Diego was pretty over-confident. So seeing him knocked down a few pegs would be entertaining, especially if he's knocked down by one of his creations!

… Well, no. The Storm Professor stopped himself. He had to stop referring to them, even in his head, as his 'creations'. That wasn't right, he felt; it was as if he was asserting that the wizards he created weren't people. But they were; he had to remember that.

"So what brings you here?" The frog asked, smiling. He'd received visits from both Gizmo and Garrett yesterday, but, oddly enough, he hadn't heard anything from Tip. Balestrom would have to make a point to ask for him today, as he wanted to make sure the boy was doing fine. In the meantime, he was glad Gizmo was visiting him regularly, at least.

"I had a few questions… About our creation." Gizmo announced up-front, frowning softly. "There's so many things I don't yet understand…"

He walked over to one of the barren desks, sitting on top of it as Balestrom thought to himself for a moment. The Storm Professor nodded, smiling.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" He grinned. "I don't have all the answers, but I'll give all of your questions my best shot!"

* * *

In the beginning, the Spiral was a single world. A large, spherical world with many different lands, people, places… It was a mystical world, with remnants of magic allowing all living creatures to possess at least some degree of wizardly talent.

And all was at peace in this wonderful world… That was, until the Titans began fighting.

The Ice Titans ruled the sky… The Fire Titans ruled the land… The Storm Titans ruled the sea…

They all fought for more land, for more honor, for more pride. They all fought for the sake of fighting, and, because of all of this war, because of all this magic… Everyone else paid the price. Many races died off simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Families were separated, so many lives were lost… Seeing all the despair and torment, two beings, who had completely mastered the art of magic, decided to do something about it.

By the time they had prepared themselves, they had two problems on their hands. The first was that the war had split the world… Literally. The world was being split into many different pieces due to the sheer force of the war between the powerful titans. At this rate, the world itself would crumble into dust.

Their second problem was the Titans themselves. They could not be killed, but so long as they remained in the picture, they would certainly continue to destroy everything…

So these two beings came up with a plan. They used their powerful magic to make threads of pure power, weaving the worlds together in a fantastical web of magic that we call the Spiral. Afterwards, they used their power to pull all of the Titans into a deep slumber, ensuring that they would never wake up again, unless brought back by a force of power that equalled both beings'.

Do you know what kind of magic the beings used…?

Myth and Life. Grandmother Raven is the master of Myth magic, and Bartleby is the master of Life magic.

The threads of the spiral are made out of the magic of creation and the magic of life. Many races have tried to extract some of the magic out of these threads, but they're sealed tight... There's no way to research this magic…

Or so we thought.

Diego, master of the arena, found a hole in well-knit Spiral. While exploring the Dark Cave, he apparently found a small nook that holds what he, at first, believed to simply be an odd mineral. However, it reality, it was a piece of the Spiral's thread…

We would research how it got there, but, out of fear of anyone using it for evil, only Diego is allowed to even know where this powerful source is. He's the only one we trust not to do anything stupid with it; and even if he tried, he couldn't do much. Diego's rather short-sighted… The most he would do is summon another 'him' so that he could fight and beat himself before saying something dumb like 'Diego can even beat himself!'...

Sigh.

Anyway, I was charged with researching this strange material. Even my great machines couldn't track the amount of Myth and Life power within this material! After realizing it was practically a gift from the gods, I called it 'Stardust', because I knew this would turn things around. This material would be the damning strike against Malistaire.

In my mind, it was obvious what to do next. Myth is the magic of creation. Life is the magic of living things. I thought that, with Stardust, I could create living things. Or, perhaps, even better…

I could create living, breathing wizards.

It didn't take long for me to find out how I could do this. Moolinda was very cooperative, and Mr. Lincoln, with Malorn's help, always managed to get just enough information out of Cyrus. It was a simple matter of using what I'd learned about advanced Life and Myth magic to create the ultimate 'summons'.

But as I researched more and more… As I hypothesised, experimented, and came so close to actually trying to create life… I began to realize some consequences.

For one thing, the creations cannot live without more Stardust. That's why, every day, or every time you feel woozy, you should take a small tablet of Stardust. You have been taking your Stardust, yes…? Without it, you cannot survive long. At most, I'd imagine you could go three days without Stardust until you'd be too weak to sustain life any longer.

For another, the creations wouldn't just be powerful. They would be completely new people. I'd be bringing three new people into the world and essentially telling them that they were our last hope. That's a lot of responsibility to drop on some lads when they've only known the world for a few minutes. I'm lucky you three were so patient…

By that point, I knew I had to gather the rest of the facility and discuss this. Luckily, the motion to go through with this experiment passed, and you three were created. Or, perhaps, you were summoned…? Even still, I'm not sure… There was no science behind what I did. I simply went off of my own observations and took a wild guess. Heh. Maybe we won the lottery, eh?

Anyway… As much as I'd love to find out why each of you are the way you are… There's simply no more time for that. I've wasted enough time debating whether or not I should even create you. Now is the time for action.

You and your brothers need to do your best. Grow strong, be prepared… And don't forget! "That which can be imagined, can be achieved!"

That's my motto! And I imagine a Spiral where everything is at peace! A Spiral with you, Garrett, Tip! A Spiral without the threat of Malistaire!

Now do me a favor, lad:

 _Go out there and achieve. Earn that Spiral for us. I know you can do it._

* * *

Gizmo Apprentice was achieving. He just didn't think he'd be doing it so soon.

After that talk with Professor Balestrom, Gizmo put aside his other questions. He knew they were things he would simply have to find out later. For now, he had to focus on securing his future… Securing everyone's futures.

And, right now, that meant defending their home.

He'd woken Tip and Garrett up, asking if they could go to the Arena. Both were hesitant, but eventually, they had followed Gizmo. Arriving at Unicorn Way's Park, where the arena was, Garrett had immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Yo, guys…?" He asked, looking around the park. "Where are all the guards…?"

"H-huh?" Tip blinked. He took a quick glance around, looking for any of Wizard City's guards. They were usually posted all over the place, but, here, they seemed to have disappeared… Then again, it was rather early in the morning. That was why no other wizards were here. So perhaps the guards had the mornings off on weekends…?

"Look!" Gizmo's eyes widened as he pointed across the park with his sword.

Being excited to go to the arena, Gizmo had been closest to the building before Garrett questioned the lack of guards. And, because of that, he was in a pretty good position to notice something on the other side of the park: three guards, one in a WDC, and two outside. They were fighting some sort of… Ghosts?

Floating, cloaked, transparent beings that said nothing, and, perhaps, were nothing. Lost Souls, the people called them; usually, they only lurked around the Dark Cave, but, now, they had somehow been called to Unicorn Way.

As soon as Gizmo had pointed them out, Garrett started rushing to the scene. Taking out his crossbow, the cloaked man made quick time across the lush green of the park, being the fastest of the three brothers. Gizmo and Tip did their best to follow close behind, but were hardly close; Garrett had made it there in half the time his brothers did.

"What's going on!?" The thief shouted. The guard in the WDC, carrying a shield, grunted.

"Undead are roaming all around Unicorn Way!" He answered, adjusting his silver helmet. "Get back, kid! We've got this!"

The two guards outside the WDC were using their athames. One had a silver sword, which they were using to swing at the first Lost Soul; the ghost in question didn't seem to be hurt, but there was a red mark on the ground beneath them.. It seemed to get smaller and smaller as the guard attacked.

The second simply used a wooden bow and arrow. The arrows dissipated upon hitting the second Lost Soul but, again, the red mark was getting smaller and smaller for it, too.

The three already knew what that mark meant. All creatures within a WDC started out with a green circle around them to track their magical power. As a creature is hit, its concentration is broken, causing the circle to slowly disappear. It would become yellow, then orange, then, finally, nothing but a red mark…

Soon, even that mark would disappear. And when that happened, the Lost Souls floated down, into the ground. For the undead, being defeated in a WDC meant they would return to their peaceful slumber… For the living, it would mean simply being knocked out. Well, there were many ways to die within a WDC… But it was mostly up to whether or not a person had any murderous intent.

Tip had been thinking about all of this, but was snapped out of his thinking when the guards started running away.

"Okay, you heard them!" Gizmo called out to his relatives. "They're going to lock the gate and make sure nobody else gets in here! We need to find the source of these undead and destroy it!"

Oh. Tip hadn't heard that. He didn't know they would have to fight so soon… He thought he would have time to practice!

But now that time was stripped away. The trio was facing the real deal now. There was a tense feeling within Tip; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to do this or not, but…

They'd have to try their best.

Gizmo Apprentice was confident, so he walked down Unicorn Way.

Garrett Apprentice was unsure, but he walked down Unicorn Way.

Tip Apprentice was terrified, but…

He walked down Unicorn Way, ready to face whatever was waiting there for them.


	4. Chapter 1-3: Unicorn Way

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-3**

 _"_ _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

Calem Lifearrow woke up in an unusual place.

Well, unusual for anyone else. But, for the centaur, the Unicorn Way Park was where he went to sleep almost every night. He'd been given a dorm, but it wasn't exactly suited for him. He couldn't lay on the bed without crushing it or being in a really uncomfortable position… So he preferred to simply sleep around in one of Wizard City's parks. Nobody ever disturbed him, luckily, so sleeping out in the open was something he felt was safe and comfortable.

Today, however, sleeping outside came with a consequence. Fluttering his eyes open, the centaur yawned, slowly getting up, onto his hooves. He adjusted his green T-shirt, reminding himself to go to his dorm later and switch it out with something else.

But for now, he wanted to go through his morning jog. He'd go up and down Unicorn Way before he did anything else so that he could get some exercise and wake himself up. Calem made it to the street, about to run down it, when he noticed a few things.

For one, there were no guards, which was unusual. For two, there were no people, which was even more unusual. For three, there was a short, walking skeleton with a bandana and scimitar roaming around and yelling.

That was really unusual.

Recognizing it easily as an undead creature, Calem glared. He thought the undead that Malistaire had summoned in the Dark Cave were blocked off and were being taken care of…? Or was this something new? Not bothering to stop and question this, the centaur lept into action, rushing towards the skeleton.

"Hey! Time to go back to the afterlife, pal!"

He started a WDC with the Skeletal Pirate, which seemed surprised, now captured within the magical field. But it knew how to fight. It glared at Calem for only a moment, making yelling sounds that amounted to nothing more than gibberish nonsense, before taking a good look at the middle of the WDC.

The WDC had a triangle mark that showed which wizard would cast a spell first at the end of a thirty second period. It would then go clockwise until it rounded back to the first wizard to cast a spell, in which case, thirty more seconds would have to pass before everyone who could would have to cast a spell.

Or fail at casting a spell. If you didn't have a spell prepared by the end of the thirty second period, that was it. You would essentially be 'skipping your turn', as Calem called it.

For right now, the triangle was pointed at Calem. The Life student grinned, pulling out his crossbow.

"You'll be good target practice, buddy!" He taunted, loading the crossbow with a light green bolt. He checked the circle around him. Completely green and full… Good. He needed to keep it that way.

Feeling himself running low on time, Calem aimed the crossbow towards the center of the WDC. Soon, the WDC lit up, shining a heavenly light blue. It was time to cast his spell. He shot a bolt into the middle of the WDC, effectively channeling his magical energy into his crossbow, which seemed to cause the green bolt to burst into a powerful array of Life magic…

The Skeletal Pirate laughed. That was it? A little light show in the middle of the WDC? What was this kid thinking-

The Skeletal Pirate didn't look up, apparently.

A light green circle appeared above the undead being, filled with runic symbols and enchantments. Out of it, a large, wooden arrow was summoned, flying downwards at an incredible rate. It was pointed down, clearly meant to attack an enemy from above, with a bundle of leaves and butterflies flying around it to emphasize the elegance of the attack.

Well, 'elegance' was the wrong word. It looked pretty, but it was definitely a little over-the-top.

The arrow clashed into the skeleton, but, as with the sword fighting and archery from earlier, it didn't seem to do anything to it. In fact, it was as if it went straight through the monster, as if it was transparent….

The arrow, the nature, and all of the magic disappeared. Calem called that attack Arrow Rain; it was meant to hit multiple targets, but since only one was here right now, the full strength of the attack was piled onto that one skeleton. And it really showed. The green circle that was once around the Skeletal Pirate had dissipated, leaving only a small, red mark.

"Raaa!" The Skeletal Pirate yelled out in anger. The triangle moved to point at it, allowing it to cast its own spell.

It swung its sword wildly, seeming to try to cast something, and, by some grace of the gods, it actually succeeded! Calem winced, prepared for whatever was about to hit him…

…

A mark appeared at the centaur's hooves. It was floating around him… The mark was a black, pointed shield with spikes. Well, no, it wasn't a 'shield'; this was called a 'trap'. Specifically, this was a Death Trap, which would allow the next Death attack against Calem do deal more damage.

"..." Calem stared, raising an eyebrow. The Skeletal Pirate waved its sword triumphantly.

"... Welp, nice knowing ya." Lifearrow shrugged the stupidity of it all off. The Pirate hadn't actually done anything to him. This battle would be over in just a moment now. As the triangle pointed to him, Calem grinned, loading his crossbow with another bolt. The trap would disappear as soon as the WDC did.

And the WDC did indeed disappear. All Calem had to do was use Arrow Rain again, and the Skeletal Pirate cluttered to the ground, now nothing more than a pile of bones.

Now that it was gone, Calem Lifearrow wanted answers. But first, he needed to make sure no more of those things were around Unicorn Way…

Loading his crossbow once more, he bolted off.

* * *

"Ha! This is easy!" Garrett grinned.

"Don't get too cocky!" Gizmo warned.

Tip Apprentice had trapped four Skeletal Pirates into a WDC. Using Fortify, an advanced Ice Spell, the boy tried to block as much of the incoming damage as he could. A light blue aura surrounded him, keeping him safe.

Meanwhile, his brothers were attacking. Gizmo slashed at the first Skeletal Pirate, taking it down within six hits; it didn't even get to have its first turn. For Garrett, he simply had to stay still, load his crossbow, aim, and fire. Reload, aim, fire. Reload, aim, fire.

Within five shots, the second Skeletal Pirate was gone. The third and fourth looked on edge, but they did their best, casting Death spells against Tip. The Balance mage was hit with a stream of black wisps, but a good amount of the power was blocked by his Fortify. He witnessed his green circle go down by about a quarter, appearing to be yellow now.

"H-Hurry!" He begged, waving his Sidhe Staff. The Apprentice was preparing a Life spell for himself, hoping it would help with the damage he just took.

Gizmo was whacking away at the third Skeleton, with the fourth being targeted by Garrett, who shot at it from a distance. He actually found it pretty boring. He just had to keep reloading, aiming, and firing. It wasn't as if he even had to hit the thing in a specific area, no matter where he shot, the circle disappeared by the same amount. The same principle applied to Gizmo; the amount of damage he dealt was only dependent on the strength of the slash, nothing more.

The second turn had started. Tip cast the Life spell, summoning a shining light above him. His circle was refilled, becoming completely green…

And before the triangle could move, the skeletons were already defeated. The WDC dissipated, with Gizmo panting heavily and Garrett yawning.

"Like I said: easy." Garrett smirked while Gizmo let out a large sigh, groaning.

"Easy for you… Hopefully this will get easier as time goes on…" The knight frowned, glancing over to Tip. "Are you alright?"

The Balance mage nodded softly. He wasn't hurt at all, especially since he had healed himself just before the battle ended. He hadn't used a single Balance spell yet, as they weren't needed, but his Life and Ice spells were certainly helping with their strategy.

"Sweet. Let's keep moving!" Garrett started walking, rounding a corner on the street. Gizmo and Tip began to follow, turning the corner to see some new enemies.

Dark, floating fairies. They didn't look much stronger than the other monsters, but these things weren't the undead. They were living, breathing creatures that were somehow corrupted…

"Yo, didn't Moolinda mention these fairies before?" Garrett frowned, watching as the creatures floated around up ahead. "Somethin' about how they sometimes wander Unicorn Way, and to be nice to them…?"

"They don't look like they're in the mood for 'nice' anymore…" Gizmo observed, frowning. "We'll simply have to knock them out if they try anything. There has to be an explanation for this further down the street."

"I-I don't want to hurt them if they're supposed to be nice…" Tip grimaced. "B-but, if they're corrupted… I guess we don't have a choice…?"

He frowned, looking down for a moment. Gizmo smiled, patting the boy's head.

"Don't worry about it. They'll thank us once we find a way to revert them back to normal." The knight smiled knowingly before looking ahead. "Alright. Charge!"

He rushed ahead, followed by Garrett and the unwilling Tip.

* * *

Neil had wanted to get to the arena early. He wanted to secure a location for himself and his friends to practice against some dummies. He also, perhaps, wanted to see if they could go up against some real, summoned enemies… He knew his strategies would work against whatever was thrown at them. So, with that bit of confidence in mind, he walked to the gate to the Unicorn Way Park, where the Arena was…

And found it to be blocked off by an iron gate, with two Wizard City guards standing in front of it.

"..?" He rose an eyebrow at the two. One of them rose their spear, tipping their helmet.

"Unicorn Way is currently blocked off due to an emergency!" The guard reported. "Please go about your business; Unicorn Way will be opened up again shortly."

"...!" Neil's eyes widened. An emergency? What kind of emergency could be… Dammit, wait…

"Have you seen a centaur?" He asked quickly, his voice tainted with a small amount of worry. The guards looked at each other for a moment before shaking their heads in unison.

That was all Neil needed to know.

He rushed off, needing to check the Golem Court and Cyclops Lane. Those were the only other places Calem slept... If he wasn't anywhere there, the Ice wizard would only be able to assume one thing:

Calem Lifearrow was trapped in Unicorn Way with whatever that 'emergency' is.

* * *

At the end of Unicorn Way was a hedge maze. There, the guardian Seraph, who watches over the fairies of Unicorn Way, makes her home.

After speaking with her for only a couple of minutes, the Apprentice family walked out of the hedge maze, getting back onto the street. As they've found out, there was a source to the fairies' darkness, too. And whatever source that was… Was also creating the undead which were roaming around.

"Can't we just check all the towers and houses around here?" Garrett groaned. "How else are we gonna find this 'source' and make them revert the fairies and shit?"

He was clearly a bit disgruntled about the whole thing. It seemed like a whole lot of extra effort, trying to find another way to discover the source of these things. But Gizmo shook his head, ready with a retort.

"If we did that, we'd scare a lot of people who are hiding in their homes…" He frowned. "I'd rather burst into a building knowing for sure it's the place I need to be."

"Gizmo's right… I-I'd feel bad if we scared a random person…" Tip held tightly onto his staff. He felt very strongly about that; if he was going to have to go through all this, he wanted to drag as little people into it as possible, and he wanted to affect as little people as he had to, too.

The three walked down the street, having already defeated everything in their way. Luckily, defeating the fairies not only made them unconscious, but also purified them; so they made sure to defeat as many as they could. Gizmo never felt so good about slashing at something before.

Garrett was still bored, though. He wondered when his archery skills would actually be put to the test…

They made it to a three-way intersection. One way lead back down to the park, while another led down the street, towards one of Unicorn Way's many towers. All of the residential areas in Wizard City seemed to have towers, which held researchers, adept wizards, and other such mid-graduates from Ravenwood.

"Ah shit!" Garrett's eyes widened, seeming to spot something. "Yo, Gizmo, we gotta hide!"

The cloaked thief rushed to a corner of the intersection, jumping behind a bush. Gizmo wasn't sure why Garrett called to hide, but, figuring he wasn't kidding around, the knight followed, rushing behind the bush and kneeling down, hoping to not be spotted by whatever was out there.

"H-huh!?" Tip's eyes widened, confused as to why he got left behind. No, wait, he did know… He was supposed to be the one who confronted everything before the others did. That way, nothing could trap Gizmo or Garrett in a WDC…

He hated it, though. Tip didn't want to be the one up-front and confronting things before everyone else… He felt scared when that happened. And, unfortunately for him, it'd be happening a lot if things continued in this manner…

But as soon as the Balance mage saw what Gizmo and Garrett were hiding from, he wasn't scared anymore.

"Tip!" Calem's eyes widened as he rushed down the street, calling the Balance mage's name. As soon as he made it to the kid, he grinned, patting his shoulder.

"Dude, am I glad to see you! Are you alright?" The centaur asked, worried. "I mean, geeze, there's monsters roaming all over the place, you probably can't take them out on your own."

"I-I was hiding in the hedge maze…" Tip frowned, making up a lie on the spot. He knew nobody else could know about Project 101 and its subjects, so he made sure to hide the fact that Gizmo and Garrett were even around. "When I came out, the street was pretty empty, s-so…"

"That's probably thanks to me." Lifearrow grinned. "I took out a ton of those skeletons. Even managed to purify some corrupted fairy!"

He remembered feeling pretty bad about defeating the fairy, but as soon as he saw it turned them back to normal, he was pretty happy with himself. Bursting with confidence, he figured he could track down the source of the undead and take it down himself; but, with Tip here now, maybe Calem didn't have to do it alone.

"R-really? That's so cool!" The Apprentice beamed, genuinely impressed. "Thank you so much!"

It was nice to know he made some powerful friends. If Calem, a Life wizard, could take out a ton of the undead here by himself… It was pretty clear that the centaur was not to be messed with. It made Tip shiver with excitement, thinking about how well he'd do with a Dragonblade or two…

But he stopped himself. Right, he shouldn't use any powerful spells on Calem… Otherwise, the fact that Tip wasn't exactly 'ordinary' would be obvious. He'd have to use weaker Balance spells…

"Heh, they were all Death, so it was nothing." Calem beamed with pride, hitting his chest softly. "Y'know, the Skeletal Pirates seemed to be coming from this direction… If you were in the hedge maze, then…"

He looked over to the tower. "I bet that's where the source is!" The centaur pointed with one of his human hands. "And, y'know, with the two of us together.. Whatever it is will be down in no time flat!"

He smiled, looking over to the Balance mage. "So, what do you think? You up for it?"

Tip was not up for it. No, not at all. In fact, he'd much rather hide under a rock and cry. But that was how he was feeling this whole time, and, yet, everything was going well, so… There was no real reason not to. If he said no, Calem might just take him back to the Park before going out on his own, and then Tip wouldn't be able to do anything; Garrett and Gizmo certainly wouldn't be able to help, less they reveal Project101…

So, in order to support his newfound friend, Tip nodded softly.

"I-I'll do my best!" He smiled, holding his staff to his chest. "Just tell me anything you need! I-I'll support you until the end!"

Calem grinned, patting Tip's head. "That's the spirit, buddy! Let's kick some skeletal ass!"

He helped the boy onto his horse back before speeding off, in the direction of the tower. As the two made their way there, the other two brothers exited the bush, staring off in the direction of the two wizards.

"Uh… Are they gonna be okay?" Garrett blinked, scratching the back of his head.

"We don't have any other choice but to believe in them for now…" Gizmo sighed. "But let's stalk outside the tower, just to make sure. Come on."

He started walking forwards, the thief following behind him.

* * *

It was just as Merle Ambrose feared.

Sitting in his office, he looked over a letter with a sigh. Apparently a group of five wizards were stating that they knew for certain that one of their friends were trapped in Unicorn Way… However, the guards checked the park, and there was nobody around at all.

Now the Headmaster did indeed remember the name 'Calem Lifearrow'. How could he not? Despite the fact that Ambrose strived to allow all races to attend Ravenwood as long as they had the magical aptitude, Calem was the first and only centaur to apply and get into the academy. And, well, he was one of the only 'unique' creatures in the academy.

Ambrose was rather proud of the fact that the Life student was doing so well in classes, too. He was representing his kind very well. And when he'd heard that Lifearrow had also made a few friends, Ambrose was elated. Perhaps this success would lead to more creatures becoming more confident and applying for Ravenwood despite the mostly-human population…?

But for now, that success didn't matter. The Headmaster was simply worried about the boy's well-being. He and his group of friends had his eye, especially with how well they were reported to do in the arena and against other wizards… He even danced around the idea of asking them to help take down Malistaire if Project101 failed. Luckily, the project was a grand success, but now, the same terrible feeling that struck him in the arena hit him again. This time, it was more vivid and clear than ever…

Despite his best efforts, students of his academy would be put in great danger because of Malistaire. And, now, the Headmaster wasn't sure if he wanted to put any effort into protecting them anymore at all. Perhaps things were supposed to go this way. Perhaps it was fate calling for the students to become heroes, despite Merle Ambrose's wishes…

… But he refused. So long as Ambrose was Headmaster, he would strive to keep his students safe. He would just have to hope they didn't get wrapped up in anything else after this Unicorn Way incident… He would just have to hope Calem Lifearrow would be okay, and that the Project101 subjects had found him and kept him safe…

He would just have to hope, with all his heart, that this wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

The Headmaster put down the letter, knowing that he had to take more measures than ever to keep Project101 a secret. He didn't want to alarm the academy by revealing that Malistaire had any plans at all… He didn't want to make them think that any retaliation was even necessary. So, because of that, the project and its subjects had to be kept secret.

Besides, even if he did say the full truth… He knew that the Apprentice family's peers may not treat them very well. They were 'created', after all; not fully human. They were like summons. They may receive the same treatment as Calem did, if not worse.

So Merle Ambrose promised to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep those three safe. He would keep the students safe, too. He'd do everything he could…

Unfortunately, however, 'everything he could' wasn't enough to stop fate.

* * *

"Gotcha!"

Calem called out, holding his crossbow in front of him. He and Tip entered the stone brick tower, finding a skeleton trying to put together another skeleton, with a dark fairy lurking about nearby as well.

This skeleton was different, however. Instead of having a pirate's outfit, this one had a black helmet with a golden trim and spike on the top. He also held a large, black shield with a skull on it. It turned around, surprised.

"Wh-what are you doing here!? Wizards!?" It called out, annoyed. "Get out!"

"No way! Are you the one summoning the undead and corrupting the fairies?" Calem accused, still aiming his crossbow.

The skeleton in question looked over to the pile of bones it was trying to put together. It had a bandana and a scimitar lying alongside it…

He then looked over to the Dark Fairy, who only giggled mischievously.

"... No?" The skeleton tried.

"Oh, sorry...!" Tip frowned. "W-we didn't mean to disturb you, in that case-"

"Tip! He's obviously lying!" Calem flinched. "Bro, you are too innocent for this world…"

"He was…? A-ah, right… Erm.. Sorry…" The Apprentice grimaced, looking down. The centaur sighed in response, glaring at the skeleton.

"Alright, so who are you? Why are you doing this?" He interrogated, holding his crossbow firmly.

"Me…?" The skeleton pointed to himself, grinning wickedly. "Well, you're about to find out, wizard! Remember my name well… Because I am… **Rattlebones!** "

Calem and Tip had no time to react. In a flash, they were trapped in a WDC alongside Rattlebones, who swung a black longsword around menacingly.

"You won't stop Malistaire's plans, wizards!" He growled, still swinging while the Dark Fairy joined him for the battle. "We're going to take over Wizard City, and then, none of you will have a chance to stop us!"

He laughed, not realizing that he just gave out Malistaire's plan to two kids who could easily flee and report this to the Headmaster right away.

… And, well, luckily for him, they didn't flee. But unfortunately for him, they weren't pushovers, so the battle ahead was not going to be easy.

"Malistaire…!? He's doing this?" Calem grimaced, reading a spell as he noticed that the triangle was pointing towards Rattlebones. Shit, he'd ask more questions, but… He had to concentrate!

The turn order was Rattlebones, Dark Fairy, Tip, and Calem. Figuring he'd just use his arsenal of attack spells, like he had been this whole time, Lifearrow prepared an offensive spell.

Tip, meanwhile, knowing that he didn't just have to defend himself now, smiled. Finally, he could use some Balance… It felt refreshing! Waving his staff around, he prepared to give his friend a boost.

"This is futile, wizards! Futile! I, the great Rattlebones, will strike you down!" The skeleton laughed as the thirty seconds of preparation passed. He struck at the center of the WDC, using a powerful Death spell. Two separate, dark auras appeared around both Tip and Calem, breaking their concentration immensely. The circles around them went from green to yellow… It seemed as if only two thirds remained.

"Sh-shit!" Calem flinched. "That's strong! I'll heal next turn!"

The Dark Fairy skipped her turn, preparing something powerful. But as she did, she sealed her fate, allowing for Tip to use his spell to help Calem's next attack.

"Balanceblade!" He called out, causing a transparent, white blade to appear over the centaur. Calem grinned, feeling significantly stronger.

"Alright! You're going down!" He laughed, firing at the Dark Fairy.

A Seraph appeared in the middle of the WDC, cast by Calem. She was floating, with long locks of beautiful, golden hair and a white robe. She meditated with a white longsword, summoning a holy light to come down upon the Dark Fairy. The light's power was so great, especially due to the Balanceblade, that it brought the monster's concentration down to nothing in no time at all. The Fairy drifted down, onto the ground, completely knocked out.

"Psh! She was useless, anyway!" Rattlebones scoffed. "You're doomed, wizards! Do you hear me!? Doomed!"

"Yada yada…" Calem used one of his human hands to mock Rattlebones's excessive talking, causing Tip to giggle. Rattlebones's eyesockets widened as he waved his sword around furiously.

"Why you… Disrespectful wizards!" He cried out. "I'm the great Rattlebones! You can't make fun of me!"

"Then what'd I just do?" Calem grinned.

"... Make fun of me…" Rattlebones lowered his head, his pride being broken.

"Aww… Calem, be nice." Tip frowned, holding his staff to his chest. "Maybe he's a nice guy when he isn't… Um… Summoning undead and corrupting fairies to… Cause havoc… U-um, never mind, I'm dumb…"

"Don't worry about it." Lifearrow laughed it off, shrugging. Tip really was a weird kid… But he couldn't let this distract him any longer. Calem prepared a healing spell while Tip prepared another Balanceblade, as Calem's last Balanceblade was used up by his Seraph attack.

Rattlebones had his turn. "It's meaningless, wizards! Meaningless!" He laughed, using another Death spell. This one caused a Death Trap to appear on Tip, causing the Balance mage to flinch.

"Okay, I'm going to heal you since you've got the trap, got it?" Calem called out. Tip, however, shook his head.

"No! Y-you're the only one here who can attack! J-just heal yourself! I-I'll b-be fine!" He grimaced, using another Balanceblade as the triangle came to him. Calem wasn't expecting that response at all; usually people appreciated being healed, but, in this situation, Tip was right; Calem was the best damage dealer right now, and-

Wait. Did Tip just say Calem was the only one who could attack?

Tip couldn't attack?

The centaur shook his head, using his healing spell. A holy light appeared above him, mending his mind…

He'd have to ask about that later. For now, he had to concentrate…

The third turn arose. Rattlebones laughed, knowing he could bring at least one of the wizards down now. Tip was well-aware of that fact and, because of it, grimaced. He didn't want to get knocked out, but… It was better than Calem possibly suffering the same fate, wasn't it? He didn't bother preparing a spell, simply hoping to prepare himself somewhat for the incoming pain.

Calem noticed the situation, but couldn't say anything about it. Tip was the one who said he didn't want to be healed… The centaur sighed. He was determined to kick Rattlebones into next week now… If this guy really was willing to bring pain onto his friends, he was going the hell down!

And this guy was willing. Rattlebones cast another powerful Death spell, this time only surrounding Tip with a large, dark aura. Calem couldn't even see what happened; but by the time the aura dissipated, the Balance mage was on the ground, curled up and unconscious.

"You bastard! You're going to pay for that!" He pointed his crossbow at Rattlebones, firing. This time, he summoned himself into the WDC; this was a special ability that his crossbow wand gave him, allowing him to deal damage himself if he so wished.

He swiftly reloaded his crossbow, firing. Rattlebones went from green to yellow. He reloaded again, firing. Rattlebones went from yellow to orange.

Rattlebones stayed his ground, thinking that was the end, but, noticing that Calem was reloading once more, he began to get nervous. The centaur glared, firing once more.

Rattlebones went from orange to red. And it still wasn't over. With the power of the Balanceblade, Calem was able to reload one last time, using all his concentration to keep himself in the WDC….

But suddenly, the concentration broke. The WDC disappeared. Rattlebones dodged the final bolt, running to the exit.

"Y-you haven't heard the last from me! I, the great Sergeant Rattlebones, will be baaaaack!" He cried out, running out of the tower. He speeded by so quickly, he was even too fast for Garrett, who simply stared from behind a bush as the short skeleton ran away, crying like a baby.

Calem would've chased after him… But he didn't care about that guy for right now. He sat down next to Tip's limp body, picking the kid up with his human arms and putting him on his back.

"I'm sorry, man…But.. We did awesome." He smiled softly, getting up. "I'm gonna get you somewhere safe."

He calmly walked out of the tower, carrying Tip's unconscious body on his horse back. He felt bad about the battle… If Neil had been there, perhaps he could have come up with a strategy, but at the time, what Tip had said seemed like the best option… Especially since, well, if it was true… Tip couldn't attack. If Calem had healed Tip, the centaur may have fallen, and there'd be no hope.

Which meant that, ultimately, he had no choice. Lifearrow sighed. He'd have to make it up to the little guy later. But, for now, he had to focus on getting to safety. He walked calmly down the now barren street, noticing as one or two people started to peek out of their homes, realizing that the undead seemed to have completely disappeared. Soon, as Calem walked down Unicorn Way, he left behind him a wake of neighbors greeting each other, cheering, and celebrating life. He smiled. For the first time in his life, he felt like a hero. He only hoped that Tip could share this feeling with him…

He looked behind him, smiling as the people celebrated being free once more.

"Hey! Dumbass!"

Calem stopped, looking ahead for a moment before being hit with something unexpected. Samantha tackled him from the front, hugging his human body. Calem was hardly startled by the hug, thanks to his large physique, but emotionally, he shifted greatly, beaming and hugging back.

"Hey, Sam! Miss me?" He laughed. The Death student didn't respond, simply keeping in the hug for a moment. She was pretty scared by Calem being trapped with a bunch of undead… She figured he might not be able to handle himself. And, apparently, she was wrong… She was pretty relieved.

Not that she'd show Calem that any longer. She pushed away, slapping him.

"You had us worried! Why didn't you just go to the gates and wait for someone to let you out!?" Samantha growled. "And don't say something stupid like 'I wanted to be a hero'."

"U-uh…" The centaur wasn't expected to be put on the spot, so he lifted up his human hands, thinking for a moment. "Well, I was just going for my morning jog, a-and… I guess I just ended up wiping the street clean of the undead…?"

"... You're a dumbass." Samantha sighed, not pleased with the answer. Before the two could continue, the other four wizards made it onto the scene.

"Yo!" Ivan called, being carried by Talos again. "You okay bro?"

"Tip!" Brooke's eyes widened, noticing the unconscious boy on Calem's back. "Oh my god, what happened!?"

She ran up to him, feeling the boy's forehead. It was a little warm, and he seemed to be breathing, which calmed her down a little, but she was still pretty worried. Grace and Neil exchanged glances, frowning to each other.

"L-Look, it's a long story, okay?" Calem sighed, not feeling so much like a hero anymore. "Let's just get him in a bed and we can talk about this."

"Y-yeah!" Brooke nodded, determined. "Let's go to my dorm! I have a spare bed!"

"Bro." Ivan's eyes widened, wanting so badly to comment about how that meant Tip was going to sleep in a girl's dorm. Lucky bastard…!

He was the only one who cared at the moment, though, as the rest of the group ran off. The Myth student stayed behind for a moment, looking at Talos.

"Man, maybe you should knock me out sometime. Then I could sleep in Grace's bed." He grinned, holding out his fist. The golem fist-bumped him, nodding, but sincerely hoping his master would forget that idea soon. Talos didn't want to knock Ivan out…

The summon walked out of the area, carrying Ivan Mythblade and leaving a happy Unicorn Way in their wake. The two smiled, glad that whatever happened was over, but they would soon find that there was very little time to rest…

For Malistaire's plans for domination of Wizard City did not end at Unicorn Way.

* * *

"I'll get them! I'll make them pay!" Rattlebones kicked a rock, walking through the Dark Cave. "I, Sergeant-... Er.. Captain Rattlebones… Will make them pay!"

Rattlebones was pretty sad about being demoted, but, to be fair, he deserved it for losing to two 'kids'. He sighed, making his way down a tunnel, when he noticed something unusual.

"... Hehe…. Hehehehehe… Ahaahhahaha! I, Captain Rattlebones, will be back! And I will be back stronger than ever!"


	5. Chapter 1-4: Olde Town

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-4**

" _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

Ivan Mythblade entered the Commons on Talos's shoulder, glancing around. Everything seemed at peace once again… The group was probably in Brooke's dorm already. The Myth wizard had definitely taken his time, like he always did. He yawned softly, smiling.

"Yo, Talos, let's go to Olde Town. There's something I wanna pick up." He looked down at his summon, who looked back up at him and nodded, moving towards the Shopping District, which divided Olde Town and the Commons.

Now that the gate to Unicorn Way was open again, it seemed as if more than a few wizards wanted to know what happened. A few of them rushed past Ivan and Talos, through the tunnel, making the kid smirk. What weird people, going so far and so fast for an answer to a question that doesn't even matter to them...

Then again, humanity was strange like that, Ivan figured. Everyone went so far and tried so hard for answers, when the answers never really matter. Sometimes, Mythblade felt like he was the only one who didn't hunger for answers every time more questions arose; he took everything in stride, and, frankly, just couldn't be bothered.

There were a few things Ivan was interested in now, though. Most of them involved the future, and what it had in store for him and his friends; right now, he could sense pieces being put into place that may take them all over the Spiral…

Heh. Oh well; whatever was going to happen, Ivan would just have to let it happen. He grinned with a small sense of confidence, knowing he had his minions behind him if he ran into any problems.

He and Talos entered the Shopping District, on their way to Olde Town.

* * *

Brooke's dorm was a two-person room with two beds, a desk, and a nice, wooden table with a few chairs around it. It wasn't much, but, it was home for the Fire wizard.

She was supposed to have a roommate, but they never showed up. That left the pyromancer with a room all to her own, even if she didn't necessarily want that. And, for the time being, she wouldn't have that; Calem put Tip Apprentice down on the spare bed, throwing the blanket over him.

"Get some rest, little guy." The centaur smiled softly, turning to the others. Grace, Neil, and Samantha had expressions on that demanded answers, but Brooke was a little more worried about her newfound friend, pulling up one of the chairs next to the bed so that she could sit near him, hoping he'd wake up soon.

"Well, uh… Okay, so, I was just sleeping in the park when I woke up and… Y'know, decided to go on my morning jog…" Lifearrow began to explain his story nervously. "I saw a skeleton roaming around, causing trouble, so I defeated it… Then I saw more and more, so I decided that, if nobody else was doing anything about them, I would."

"So that's why you didn't go to the gate?" Samantha raised an eyebrow. Calem nodded confidently.

"Y-yeah! I mean, I had no idea that the gate was down, anyway, I just thought Unicorn Way was under attack and I might've been the only one who knew about it…" He frowned. "So I wanted to do something before all those undead could cause any damage."

"You're lucky you didn't get killed out there, you know! Those things aren't going to play around with you." Grace grimaced, crossing her arms. She liked Calem, she really did, but sometimes, she really questioned his intellect. The guy was cheesy, rash, and was clearly putting himself in danger for no clear reason here. This caused the Life student to sigh, rubbing the back of his head.

"W-well, I made it, didn't I? In large part thanks to Tip…" He smiled lightly. "We fought a guy in this tower… Rattlebones, I think his name was. He said the most insane thing…"

"What?" Neil prodded for Calem to continue. The centaur nodded, moving on.

"He said Malistaire was behind that attack!" Lifearrow revealed. "What's more, I think Malistaire isn't stopping with Unicorn Way… He might try to attack other streets, too!"

"R-really!?" Brooke's eyes widened, taking a moment from fretting about her friend to look over at Calem. "We have to tell the Headmaster right away!"

"C'mon, idiot, let's go." Samantha opened the door out of the room. "No time to waste."

"R-right!" Calem seemed a little shocked at the drastic change in the situation, but he rushed out of the room nonetheless, with Samantha hopping on his back as he made his way out.

"Should we go check the other streets?" Grace asked the remaining wizards. "I mean, if Malistaire really is planning to attack more of them…"

Neil shook his head. They shouldn't get involved just yet, he figured. He would rather they stayed as they were for a moment and took a breather.

"Yeah, Neil's right!" Brooke agreed without even knowing his reasoning. "We should wait for Tip to wake up, at least! I don't want to leave him here by himself…"

Grace sighed, shaking her head. "Fine… But, uh, wait, on the subject of Tip… How did he get into Unicorn Way?"

"What do you mean?" Brooke blinked, not being the quickest to pick up on these types of things. She wasn't as used to suspecting people as Grace and Neil were. Summersong preferred to believe in people, trusting them rather than being skeptical and doubting them.

Grace and Neil, meanwhile, were on the same page. Tip Apprentice didn't have an excuse to be in Unicorn Way like Calem Lifearrow did. He might have gone to the arena early to try and practice, Grace assumed, but even then, why go down the streets of Unicorn Way afterwards?

Neil tried more ideas. Perhaps he lived in Unicorn Way? But that wouldn't make sense; Tip himself said he was new around here, and was attending the academy by himself. He had a dorm, not a home. Maybe, Neil speculated, he knew about the skeletal threat? But then, why wouldn't he tell anyone? And why go and try to take care of it on his own? Considering the fact that Tip was the one in bed right now and not Calem, it seemed that he wasn't very strong, or, at least, he wasn't strong enough to handle all of the undead in Unicorn Way by himself.

Nothing really made sense to him. He needed more information.

"I mean that, well, it's just weird, don't you think? The gate was lowered as soon as the guards found out about the undead threat, right? How did Tip know to be in Unicorn Way?" Grace frowned. And, with that question, Neil knew he might have been going about this all wrong. Lowering his head, the Ice wizard thought to himself.

The question wasn't "Why was Tip in Unicorn Way?"; that would get him nowhere. His question should be "How did Tip know to be in Unicorn Way?". After all, he had to have been there with some sort of purpose, right? So there must be some sort of cause, some sort of 'how' to it all…

"He was probably just there by coincidence. We can ask him when he gets up, anyway." Brooke smiled, shrugging it off.

"Yeah, somehow I'm doubting 'coincidence'." Grace crossed her arms. "This kid's been suspicious since we've met him. That staff of his isn't normal, the fact that he was let into the academy in the middle of the year isn't normal…"

Brooke sighed. "Grace, you're just being too skeptical! This is why we don't get any new friends, you two and Sam always push them away with all your suspicions and doubts!"

It was a heavy blow that Brooke had just delivered. Grace and Neil knew she was right, though; they were sort of 'skeptical bastards' when it came to new people. And, with this whole Malistaire thing happening now, it was if their paranoia has skyrocketed; perhaps they were being a little too hard on the kid…

"... Y-yeah, but…" The Storm wizard tried to regain her balance in the argument, but was swiftly shut down.

"I'm not letting you ruin this." Brooke frowned. "We're going to make a new friend for once and that's final, okay?"

Brooke wasn't usually one to take charge, but, when the situation called for it, she had a pretty good talent and tone of voice for convincing others. Grace sighed, and Neil softly shook his head.

"Y-yeah, you're right... " Stormraven let her guard down. "We'll just ask him later, I guess…"

Neil nodded. He was still suspicious but, with Brooke around, he had a pretty decent feeling that he wouldn't be able to ask about anything or 'interrogate' Tip at all. He, like Grace, would simply have to wait.

"Good." The Fire wizard smiled, patting her knees. "Trust me, it's going to be great, having a new friend around! We don't have to scare him off!"

Brooke had to admit, though, that simply having a new friend wasn't her only motive for shutting Grace and Neil's skeptical antics down. Being a little lonely, especially since she lived alone in the dorms, Summersong also kind of wanted someone that she could trust and talk to all the time. And, well, she didn't see anyone in her group that was like that. Neil was cold and practically emotionless, Ivan wouldn't listen, Calem was short-sighted, Samantha was just strange, and Grace, despite being her best friend, wasn't that great at cheering her up. So Brooke wanted to make another friend, one who she could really talk to about what was going on and about herself.

Oddly enough, the shy, cute Balance wizard seemed to fit the bill exactly in her opinion.

She smiled, looking over to him; hopefully he would wake up soon…

* * *

"So one of Tip's new friends helped him, then…?"

"Yeeeeep."

Garrett responded quickly and casually, leaning against a wall as he spoke to the Headmaster. Gizmo was in a seat in front of Merle Ambrose's desk, sitting silently and patiently. They had given him a quick report of what went down, what they did, and how it affected Unicorn Way. In the end, Ambrose was sad to hear that someone other than the Apprentice family was roped into this, after all. He was even more saddened to hear that Tip had been defeated due to the fight against Rattlebones, meaning that the boy still needed more training. Which, of course, was understandable; he'd only received one day's worth of classes before that horrible attack…

The Headmaster thought to himself. Calem Lifearrow had to have been the one who helped take down Rattlebones… And, with that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder if, perhaps, he was wrong. Perhaps some students should get involved in this…

Again, however, his mind drifted to the danger, and he shut his eyes. "Thank you both. Please, get some rest. I'll call for you if anything else happens."

"On it!" Garrett grinned, swiftly leaving the office, followed by Gizmo, who was more than ready for a break. As the two exited the building, Ambrose sighed, opening his eyes and looking down.

Whatever was coming, he knew he couldn't stop it. He'd simply have to confront it with whatever he had…

* * *

Ivan Mythblade hopped off of Talos, surveying Olde Town. It was a pretty peaceful place, but could also be crowded and busy due to it being essentially a huge intersection. It led to three streets within Wizard City: Firecat Alley, Trident Avenue, and Cyclops Lane. Not only did it lead to three whole other areas, but it was also connected to the Shopping District, meaning people were walking through here all the time just to shop for things.

But Ivan was mostly interested in the Bazaar. The Bazaar wasn't too popular, but it sold items from all around the Spiral, and even allowed wizards to sell items for gold. The Myth student had recently placed an order in for a specific item, and, with Talos, had come to pick it up.

He jumped off of Talos, entering the Bazaar's building. There, the merchant was standing in front of the counter, waiting for some customers.

"Oh, hey there, Mythblade!" The merchant nodded, knowing this boy well. "Come to pick up your TC?"

"Mhm." Ivan nodded softly, watching as the large man pulled a few golden cards out of a pouch.

"Bladestorm, Dragonblade… Why would you need this stuff, anyway?" The merchant raised an eyebrow, handing the cards out to Ivan. He had paid for them earlier, and at a rather nice price, the Bazaar owner thought. It was still a mystery to him as to why the boy wanted them, however…

"Maybe I'll tell ya someday." Ivan grinned, taking the cards. "But a guy's gotta have a few secrets, y'know?"

He gave a goofy wink to the merchant before exiting the Bazaar, climbing back on top of Talos and sitting on the golem's shoulder.

"K buddy, I think we're prepared." He placed the mysterious cards in his right pocket, smiling sheepishly. "Let's get back to the Golem Court. I need a nap…"

Talos nodded, just as confused. What was his master doing with those Treasure Cards…? They were used to cast spells that the user didn't already know. Sometimes, Talos had suspected Ivan of cheating past tests with Treasure Cards, but the golem had checked the cards where Ivan was sleeping from time to time, and they were all Balance. What he used them for and why he kept buying them, Talos simply couldn't put together.

However, not wanting to question his master any further, Talos nodded, moving forwards.

* * *

Tip Apprentice let out a small yawn. He slowly regained consciousness, his senses coming back to him slowly but surely as he felt himself laying on his back, surrounded by something soft… He was on a bed, covered by a blanket.

He remembered what had happened. He could only hope that Calem defeated Rattlebones, and that Unicorn Way was safe… He wanted to ask him, but, as he regained his sight, the Balance wizard began to realize that the centaur wasn't around. Instead…

"You're up!" He heard a familiar voice cheer. "Tip, are you feeling okay?"

The young Apprentice turned softly to his right, seeing Brooke sitting in a chair, next to his bed. She was smiling happily, full of friendliness and supportiveness.

The boy smiled. "Y-yeah… Wh-what happened…?"

"You and Calem saved Unicorn Way, apparently." Grace spoke up, standing at the end of the bed. "The lovebirds went out to tell Ambrose already."

"Lovebirds..?" Tip asked quietly, having no idea what that meant. The term itself was unfamiliar to him; however, Grace took it as simply not knowing who the lovebirds were.

"Calem and Sam." She grinned. "They'll be back soon."

The Apprentice nodded. "A-alright…"

"Do you need anything?" Brooke asked, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "That must've been tough! I have no idea why Calem didn't heal you…"

That last statement struck a nerve. Tip remembered that… He asked Calem not to heal him. Calem ended up healing himself instead. Should he say anything..? If he didn't, it might be assumed that Calem was just being selfish, but, if he did, they'd think it was weird that he didn't ask for healing…

"... We were both hurt, I… I asked him to heal himself." Tip grimaced. "He had better attacking spells, so…"

He decided to only go part-way. He didn't mention his inability to attack and he didn't mention the Death Trap. With any luck, that'd fly…

"Oh, that was nice of you…" Brooke smiled softly, buying the lie. Grace nodded, taking it in as well.

"I think it was smart, too. If Calem got knocked out, we'd still be carrying him to the Commons." She grinned.

Tip Apprentice smiled, glad his friends weren't suspecting anything. "Y-yeah…" He felt a weight become lifted, as if he could speak more freely now.

"Sorry the whole 'arena' plan got cut short, by the way!" Brooke apologised, still smiling. "We just have to get together to fight another time, though! I really want to see your support spells."

"O-Oh, um… Yeah, that'd be nice…" Tip nodded softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "What time is it…? Maybe we can still go…?"

"Eh, it's four in the afternoon, about." Grace shrugged. "You shouldn't battle for the rest of today. Getting knocked out's tough."

"A-ah… Right…" The Balance wizard frowned. He was a little disappointed that they never really did get to practice magic together, but, perhaps, it was for the best. After this morning, Tip wasn't sure if he really wanted to battle for the rest of the day, anyway; he just didn't want to disappoint anyone.

Brooke got up, walking over to a wooden chest next to her bed and kicking it open. "Oh, here! I was keeping this safe for you." She grinned, taking out the Sidhe Staff. It really was a curious weapon, but she decided not to ask for now. She walked over to the bed, giving it to Tip.

"Thank you!" The Apprentice's eyes lit up as he took his staff back, holding it close to him. Grace made a connection that he was acting as if his staff was a teddy bear of some sort and giggled to herself. Yeah, maybe having a new friend wouldn't be so bad after all; she had a lot to say about this guy.

Neil, who had been silent and standing near the exit this whole time, began staring at the staff. Again, it was really strange… But, he held himself back. Brooke was going to get pissed if started 'interrogating' Tip, so he didn't say anything; he usually didn't care about how other people felt about what he did, but these people were his friends, so he kept himself in check.

"You know, if you keep that kind of heroism up, Tip, Ambrose might ask you to help fight Malistaire!" Brooke's eyes lit up. "Everyone's been talking about that! We all think he might ask some of the top students to defeat Malistaire before he does anything crazy."

"R-really? Weird…" Tip frowned, trying not to show what he knew. "I-I wouldn't think that… The Headmaster would put any of his s-students in danger like that…"

"Ah, it isn't putting us in danger if we're awesome!" Brooke grinned with blissful ignorance.

"We're not that awesome, Brooke. He was the Death teacher here. Beating him wouldn't be easy. It'd be practically impossible." Grace sighed, shaking her head.

"It was practically impossible." Brooke spoke happily. "But now we have Tip! And Calem's starting to prove himself, too! If we can just get some more practice in…"

"It isn't just Malistaire that we'd have to deal with, though…" Neil frowned, leaning against the wall. The fact that he spoke surprised Brooke and Grace, but had less effect on Tip, who wasn't as used to him keeping silent all the time.

"What do you mean..?" Grace rose an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Neil gave a light shrug.

"... Don't worry about it…" He frowned, looking down. Brooke and Grace shared a glance of suspicion, but they knew they weren't going to be able to get anything out of Neil.

Tip, meanwhile, knew exactly what the Ice student was talking about. Malistaire may not be the only threat up there in Dragonspyre… There was another thing, too. Another thing much, much more powerful than Malistaire…

The Fire Titan. The thing that Malistaire was trying to wake up. If he succeeded… Only the forces of gods would be able to save the Spiral.

* * *

A man in a dark robe walked through a dark red hallway, filled with dread. Every step he took felt a mile of pain and agony. He couldn't feel his heartbeat anymore.

He reached a stone balcony, putting his hands on the railings. The man looked out, into the blood red sky, trying to make sense of what he was doing…

He couldn't anymore. There was no sense. But 'sense' wasn't the point anymore. He just wanted to feel his heartbeat again. He wanted to feel the same feeling he did every time he went home, he wanted to feel the same feeling he did every time he saw her…

He didn't care about sense anymore. Sense was gone. All he wanted now was that feeling. That certain happiness he had lost… He had to regain it.

So he turned around, no longer facing the blood red sky. Instead, now, he was facing a skeletal creature, who trembled before him.

"M-M…. Um… Wh-what will you have us do next, master…?" The armored skeleton meekly questioned. The man glared at him, causing the skeleton to flinch.

"... A full-out attack… Do your best to take Firecat Alley, Trident Avenue, and Cyclops Lane…" The man muttered darkly. "... But you will not be spearheading it. I have lost a bit of my faith in you. Do you understand that?"

"Y-yes sir…" The skeleton meeped. "B-but, I, I have a new weapon, and-"

"I don't care." The man growled. "If you want to make yourself useful… You know what to do. Perhaps if you succeed, I will consider letting you take the lead in another one of my plans."

"... Th-thank you, sir… I'll do my best!" Rattlebones nodded, running off. And he would do his best. He had to. He needed to see those two kids fall before him…

And with this new weapon, that would definitely happen!


	6. Chapter 1-5: Three Streets (1)

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-5**

" _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

The next morning, the Apprentice family met at Merle Ambrose's office. The three stood in front of the Headmaster's desk, waiting for him to return. They were all dressed in their combat attire, ready for anything.

"So… Tip, how are things going with your friends?" Gizmo asked, smiling as he tried to spark some kind of conversation. He was wiping his steel sword clean with a small cloth, thinking about sitting down for a while if the Headmaster didn't return soon.

"They're very nice to me…" Tip responded happily. "I hate lying to them, b-but… They're so nice… I love having them around…"

"Man, Gizmo and I have to go out and get some friends… But no, it's nothin' but the arena for you, huh, knight-boy?" Garrett raised an eyebrow at Gizmo, who responded meekly.

"Eh, well… I just think it's better if we put our efforts into training, and…" He sighed. "Okay, yeah, we need to take some time to make some friends if we can…"

"You can meet my friends!" Tip's eyes shined. Gizmo shook his head at that, causing the boy to frown.

"If we met your friends, it'd be easier for them to tell that we have a connection… The moment they realize that, they'll start asking questions. And then we'll be in trouble." Gizmo sighed.

"Right. We can't let anyone know what we're up to. Don't need a whole city full of wizards thinking the world's gonna end any minute…" Garrett grumbled. "So let's try not to rope anyone into this, eh?"

"We have to rope students into this." The Headmaster spoke as he entered the room, surprising the three boys. He walked behind his desk, placing down three papers for the family to see.

"We have received reports of possessed Fire Elves, rebelling Cyclopes, and roaming Ghouls, all across three different streets." Ambrose spoke firmly, his expression grim and serious. "You cannot be at three places at once. But if we leave even a single street the way it is now, Wizard City could be doomed."

"Oh you've gotta be kidding…" Garrett growled. "Then what the hell do we do? We're just going to rely on some other students to help?"

"We have no choice." Ambrose spoke calmly, not phased by Garrett's anger. "This will be the only time I ask anything of them. Tip's friends are our best bet. If we can have Tip tell them the three streets are in danger and spark some sort of heroism within them…"

"Can't we just send the teachers in?" Gizmo frowned. "Surely they can help us take care of this."

"Those who can't do, teach." Merle Ambrose quoted wisely. "The only teachers here who are sufficient at combat magic are Dalia and Cyrus. And they, with you, simply won't be enough."

"Well, we could… I mean... " Garrett rolled through any other options, but was interrupted by a small voice to his left.

"O-Okay…" Tip grimaced. "I… I don't want to put my friends in danger, but… G-Gizmo, Garrett, we can… We can watch over them, can't we..?"

"That's right." The Headmaster smiled. "Assuming Tip gets his friends to split into three different groups to tackle the different streets… One of you can follow each group."

"Oh, yeah, that's exactly what I want to do with my day, stalk two kids." Garrett deadpanned.

"It's not stalking. We may be saving their lives." Gizmo argued, beginning to agree with the plan. "Okay. Tip, you have to get your friends to help out. You should go with whatever group goes to Cyclops Lane, I'll take Trident Avenue, and Garrett, you have Firecat Alley."

"... Aye aye, leader knight." The cloaked Apprentice sighed. "This is going to suck…"

"I'll go now! I know exactly where they are!" Tip nodded, rushing out of the office. The Headmaster bowed his head as Tip left, taking a deep breath.

"... You both know this is the last thing I wanted to do." Merle Ambrose spoke softly, sorrowful. "But we have no choice anymore. Once Wizard City is safe, they won't have to be in anymore danger…"

Garrett scoffed. "Sure, but… What if we start to get used to it? What if we start relying on these other guys for help?"

"We won't." Gizmo spoke firmly, with a sense of leadership and honor about him. "This is the first and last time. After this, they won't have to be in the picture any longer."

"... Fine…" Garrett sighed, shaking his head. "But if anything happens, it ain't on me."

He left the office, leaving Gizmo and the Headmaster alone. After three seconds of dead silence, the knight nodded to Ambrose before following Garrett, leaving as well.

"... Good luck, wizards…" Ambrose mumbled, falling back to sit in his chair. He took a deep breath. "... This fight will be long… But I believe in you."

* * *

Tip Apprentice ran to the Golem Court, not used to the physical exercise, but trying his best. The short, skinny boy had only been around for a few days, and he'd been dealt a poor hand. While Garrett and Gizmo were athletic and strong, he was weak and small.

Finally making it to the familiar spot, the Balance wizard stopped, catching his breath. He looked down, hands on his knees, as he tried to calm himself down.

"Yo, Tip! What's going on?"

Tip looked to his left, seeing Calem walk over to him. The centaur seemed surprised, not expecting Tip to run here like it was the end of the world.

"Everything okay?" Brooke followed up, frowning and getting up. Grace, Samantha, and Neil also got up from the lunchtable, walking over to the boy. Ivan refused to move, simply watching the scene lazily from a distance.

"T-the… The streets past Olde Town…" Tip gasped, shaking his head. "They're all in danger… W-we need to do something…!"

"What!?" Grace's eyes widened. "D-Did you tell the headmaster?"

"Yes! H-He said I should get you… B-because he doesn't know if the guards are going to be enough, and only two of the teachers can fight, a-a-and…" The Balance wizard grimaced, trying not to reveal too much.

"Holy shit! Merle Ambrose knows us?" Grace was completely taken aback by that.

"A-and he wants us to stop the destruction…!" Brooke's eyes shined. "This is our chance, guys! This is our chance to do more than just study in school and get good grades and stuff! We can be heroes!"

"Th-This is ridiculous… And so sudden…" Samantha grimaced. "Are we honestly-"

"Brooke, Grace, and Tip should go to Cyclops Lane." Neil spoke quickly. "Grace's Storm magic will combat the Myth magic there well. Without any defense or healing, they should have Tip for support."

"Um… Yessir?" Brooke gave a fake salute, surprised by Neil's sudden command over the situation. But, then again… It was as if he was going into battle. He was strategizing. Neil never shut up when he was strategizing...

"Tip, what's the situation in Trident Avenue?" Neil demanded. This earned a 'hey, be nice…' from Calem, who was still a bit too shocked to really jump into the conversation.

"U-Undead, s-sir…" Tip squeaked, a little scared of the Ice Student now. Neil adjusted his hood, nodding.

"Ivan and Calem should go there. Calem's Life magic will combat the undead, and Ivan's Myth magic will do well against any Storm monsters you my face." Neil looked to Samantha. "You and I should go to Firecat Alley. My Ice magic will do well against any of the Fire creatures there."

"Bartleby, you act like you've already got all of this figured out!" Grace flinched, surprised. "I mean… Oh my god, are we actually doing this?"

"We're actually doing this." Calem breathed. "We're going to save Wizard City…"

"And we don't have time to let it sink in." Neil spoke sternly. "People are in danger."

"D-dammit, you're right… Ivan! Ivan, get your lazy ass on my back!" Calem growled, running over to the Myth student and picking him up.

"Ow… I just want some more sleep, dad…" The tired Myth student complained as he was tossed onto Calem's back. "Mweh…"

He laid on Calem's back as the centaur rushed out of the Golem Court. "Let's go!"

Neil and Samantha left afterwards, both of them completely on task. That left Brooke, Grace, and the surprised Tip.

Tip Apprentice's job was so easy. All he had to do was say a couple of things and his friends immediately did exactly as he and the Headmaster wanted. He felt… Manipulative. Grimacing at that feeling, the boy wanted to tear up, but stopped himself, knowing that showing his real emotions would only cause trouble.

But he felt so bad. He had manipulated his friends, who trusted him… He was using them, in a sense. It was terrible. It was so, so horrible, but…

When the Spiral was safe, maybe he could make it up to them.

"Come on, Tip!" Brooke beamed. "We have a job to do!"

"I can't believe we're doing this… But at least the Headmaster recognizes it's better me to go in there than that N… Ni…" Grace snapped her fingers. "Fuck it, you get my point…"

"Yeah!" The Fire wizard smiled. "Now you can prove you're way better than her! Come on!"

She pat Tip's shoulder softly before running off, followed by Grace. The Apprentice, not wanting to get left behind, rushed after them as well, hoping he'd be able to keep up.

And with that, the beginning of the group's first real challenge began…

* * *

Firecat Alley was one of the most interesting places in Wizard City. Its streets looked smoldering, with bright red lines of flame sparking lightly within quite a few cracks that littered the streets. It was a bit early in the morning, so there was a nice sunrise coming up, easily seeable due to Firecat Alley being at the edge of Wizard City, and, therefore, having a large cliff that led off of the floating world…

Er… Don't go off the cliff, by the way. If you do, you'll kind of… Fall hopelessly to your doom within the darkest regions of outer space.

That was why there's wooden fences and signs. Plus, nobody lived on houses that were too close to the large cliffside, just in case. It was pretty scary, looking down, off that cliff… Neil had done it many times, just to see what was down there, but he could see nothing but darkness.

Today, he had no time to observe the darkness outside of Wizard City's bubble of safety and solitude. Instead, the Ice wizard had to enter the Alley, ready and equipped with his staff, a long, light blue spear with an amethyst attached to the handle. Samantha had her black scythe, which she used as both a wand and a weapon.

"There." She pointed to their left, further down the street. Three small, odd creatures with bows and arrows were essentially rampaging down the street, shooting at everything they saw, breaking windows, destroying small bits of plant-life, and even seeming to want to break into a house. Knowing that the residents of Firecat Alley may still be hiding within their homes, Neil and Samantha rushed towards the threat, ready to take them out.

Meanwhile, Garrett Apprentice peaked out from one of the rooftops, staring down the two wizards as they started a WDC with the creatures. He recognized them as Fire Elves, small, human-like creatures with red and yellow archer's attire. Apparently, they were supposed to be peaceful and nice… He guessed they were being corrupted by something, like the Dark Fairies in Unicorn Way.

"I need some time…" Neil frowned. "I will defend us. Give me a blade."

"On it." Samantha wasn't one to deny Neil's orders. She hated taking orders, sure, but Neil was a really smart guy; as much as she'd like to work on her own and just tell Neil to screw himself, she couldn't deny that he really knew what he was doing, and to go against him was to risk losing the fight.

The first turn began, with the triangle pointed to Samantha. Samantha used a powerful Death spell, causing a darkness to overcome her… Her green circle became yellow, but, at that cost of concentration, she gave Neil a transparent, white blade, similar to a Balanceblade.

It was Neil's turn. "Legion Shields!" He called out, summoning two large, white shields. One of them appeared in front of Samantha, whilst the other appeared in front of Neil.

They floated there, blocking the arrows from the Fire Elves as they started using their turns to attack. Samantha chuckled, grinning at how the Elves couldn't even pierce through a Legion Shield… Legion Shields were pretty weak, she thought. Not as strong as a single Tower Shield, at least, which was one of Neil's key spells.

The shields only broke at the end of the Fire Elves' arrow rain. By that time, it was a new cycle on the WDC, and Samantha was preparing to heal herself while Neil was preparing an attack. On the roof, from a distance, Garrett frowned, aiming his crossbow towards the battle. He wondered if he could hit one of those Fire Elves from here…

Samantha summoned another aura of darkness to hurt her, bringing herself down to orange health. However, a strong beam of light then healed her, getting her back up to a green, full circle. She grinned, watching and waiting for Neil to use his attack.

The Ice Student lifted his staff, eyes glowing a merciless light blue for a moment. "Blizzard!"

A snowstorm was summoned within the middle of the WDC. And with this snowstorm came bountiful amounts of hail, all of which were aimed at the Fire Elves. Their concentration was mostly destroyed, and, by the end, two of them had fallen.

The last, however, was in the red, but still standing.

Neil was about to curse his luck when, mysteriously, the final Fire Elf's concentration broke, and he fell to the ground, causing the WDC to dissipate.

Garrett grinned, wanting to cheer, but keeping silent. Damn, that was a nice shot! Haha! Now that's how to test out your skills…

"Let's keep moving." Samantha looked over to Neil, ignoring the unconscious Fire Elves for now.

Neil simply nodded, letting Samantha take the lead as the two ran further down Firecat Alley. Garrett made sure to jump from rooftop to rooftop, stalking them quietly.

* * *

Ivan had found a nice little spot to sleep. Trident Avenue was divided by a large canyon, filled at the bottom with a large amount of water, with waterfalls flowing into it even still. The purple and blue street was heavily Storm themed, clearly a great spot for those who liked to practice that kind of magic. And it also had a lot of nice waterfalls one could sit behind and take a nap in secret while his friends dealt with all the undead.

Calem was kinda pissed about that, by the way, but Talos took it as an average, normal thing for Ivan to do.

"You're goners!" The centaur glared, shooting a bolt into the middle of the WDC he was in. He had cast Arrow Rain, causing a few large, wooden arrows to fall upon four Lost Souls, defeating them easily. Talos had weakened them earlier with a small Earthquake, making the battle even easier.

The WDC dissipated, but Talos remained. Despite being a minion, Ivan's power was enough to keep Talos around at all times, in battle or not in battle. Sadly, he only really did this for Talos; if he had just tried, maybe he could get even more powerful summons out and about for long periods of time…

But this was Ivan Mythblade we're talking about. Ivan doesn't try.

Calem smiled as the battle was won, and the two walked down the street some more. They had made it to the bridge which connected the two parts of Trident Avenue together, over the canyon. There were no students to be spotted; they had made it here far too quickly for anyone else to have gotten here. Well, no, that wasn't true; there was one student that had gotten here before anyone else…

Gizmo hid behind a tree, carefully watching the centaur and the golem as they made their way over the bridge. He kept his sword and shield out, ready for anything. If he had to jump into a battle to save them, he would.

Narrowing his eyes, the Apprentice waited for a good time to keep moving and follow them…

"Hey, bro. Nice weather, eh?"

Gizmo jumped, letting out a 'yelp' as he ended up losing his balance and landing on his back, groaning. He managed to keep his grip on his sword and shield, at least. The boy looked up, trying to spot who had surprised him.

Ivan looked down at Gizmo, offering a light smile. "Sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare ya."

It seemed the lazy one had taken a break from sleeping. Ivan referred to it as a 'break', anyway; sleeping all the time was hard work, after all.

Gizmo frowned, slowly getting up, pushing on his shield to help him get back onto his feet. "E-er… No problem, I guess... " He looked nervously at Ivan, hoping the boy wasn't suspecting him of anything. Ivan shot the knight a sly grin.

"So, you a new guard or somethin'?" The Myth student chuckled. "Don't worry 'bout a thing. Calem and Talos have got this. All you and I need to do is relax."

Ivan sat down, leaning his back against the tree. He yawned, stretching his arms.

"... Right, uh… Well, I don't have time to relax." Gizmo steeled himself, shaking his head. "I have to get going… Bye."

He rushed off, trying to catch back up with Calem and Talos. Ivan simply chuckled to himself, watching with a sleepy expression on his face as Gizmo ran off.

"Weird guard…" The boy shrugged softly. "Eh… Not my problem…"

He slowly fell back to sleep, smiling.

* * *

"Alright!" Brooke Summersong cheered as the group defeated yet another band of trolls. Her Meteor Strike had been helping a lot, but it was Grace's Tempest that ultimately finished off their enemies. Tip followed close behind as the two ladies made their way across the park.

"So, I heard from one of the guards that there's some sort of general at the end of the street who's ordering all these things around." Grace checked a notebook she had on-hand to remind herself of these things. "Looks like we just need to grab a couple of IDs off of the minotaurs up ahead and we should be able to get into his little war room thing."

"Th-then we can just ask him to stop, right…?" Tip frowned, keeping his head down. "Whoever convinced him to do this… W-we can just tell them they were wrong…"

Brooke smiled softly, finding his innocence a little cute, but knowing it wouldn't work that way. "He was honorbound by whoever told him to do this… Apparently they defeated him and now the general thinks he has to do what this person says. Now, if we defeat him.."

"We can get him to stop this madness." Grace grinned. "And Cyclops Lane will be safe again!"

"O-oh…" Tip blinked. He didn't really want to defeat anymore people- he felt kind of bad about it- but if that really was the only way, he supposed he'd simply have to go along with it…

The trio moved on, walking past the park and back onto the street. Cyclops Lane was mostly yellow and white, matching its theme of the Myth school. Myth students would come to the park regularly to hang out and chat about how much they hated Cyrus Drake. However, now, it was home to frightened townspeople and a few angry mythical creatures.

The latter of which Grace was very happy to defeat with only a few flicks a lightning.

"Look!" Brooke pointed to three minotaurs, all of which patrolled the street with heavy, steel axes, ready to cut down anything that moved. These threatening creatures were part of the reason why none of the residents of Cyclops Lane were coming out of their houses. Tip was reminded of Unicorn Way, and how its residents stayed inside their houses, too.

"Let's get those IDs!" Grace grinned, rushing towards the minotaurs. Brooke and Tip followed close behind, and, upon engaging the minotaurs, a WDC was started.

So far, the trio had a decent tactic down. Grace would go first, attacking the enemies and dealing a solid amount of damage, usually through the form of Lightning Blast, her signature spell. A dark purple orb, full of lightning and power, appeared in the middle of the WDC. The orb would slowly crack apart, causing lightning to go flying; Grace simply had to control that large burst of electricity, aiming it at her targets.

The shock was very effective against the Myth enemies. Tip would then take his turn, summoning Elemental Blades for Brooke. Elemental Blades allows a target's next Fire, Ice, or Storm attack to deal a bit more damage; it tended to be more powerful than Balanceblade, but it was more situational. Three blades, one red, one cyan, and another purple, appeared above Broke, preparing her next elemental spell.

Brooke would then finish the enemies off with Meteor. Dark, swirling portals would appear above the WDC, shooting out large balls of magma and flame. It was a meteor shower made specifically to defeat a Fire wizard's enemies. Her red blade would disappear, leaving the cyan and purple ones; then, as the meteors fell onto the enemies, their circles would turn red and, eventually, their opponents would fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Sorry, but I'm borrowing this." Grace grinned, walking over to one of the unconscious minotaurs and taking a small, plastic ID that was on the ground nearby. Seems that the minotaurs dropped their IDs as they fell, making taking them very easy.

"W-we'll give them back afterwards, promise!" Tip took an ID as well, keeping a mental note to actually return it later. Grace and Brooke were just thinking of chucking their IDs away afterwards, not seeing much point in just giving them back, especially since the minotaurs would more than likely be pissed off at them for this.

The trio walked onwards, making their way to the general's home. Soon enough, they could restore peace to Cyclops Lane and prove themselves to be heroes.

But all Tip could think about was the safety of his friends. He knew Garrett and Gizmo were watching over them, but even still, he couldn't help but feel guilty for dragging them into this, even if they were happy to do it. Their lives were in danger… The Balance wizard didn't want to lean on his friends like this too often.

He walked forwards, lagging behind the joyful Brooke and Grace. The future looked grim, but, maybe, just maybe… He could make it...


	7. Chapter 1-6: Three Streets (2)

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-6**

 _"From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

'It's as if the whole world is going mad' Calem thought as he picked up a small amulet off of the corpse of a Ghoul. He and Talos had defeated a few of these undead tricksters, and all the battles went on, they began to realize that these things were using Storm-centric attacks. They also seemed to be taking more damage from Talos's attacks, which were Myth-centric.

"How the hell did these things manage to get Storm School Amulets…?" The centaur raised an eyebrow, examining the amulet closer. It had a large, purple gem embedded within a golden plate; the gem was a well-rounded sphere with the symbol of a lightning bolt within it. This was a Storm School Amulet, which allowed the wielder to hold all of the attributes of the Storm School. Calem put the thing in his pouch, uncertain; where could they have gotten such powerful gear…?

He and Talos continued down the street, glancing around. Up ahead were a few more ghouls… Calem pulled out his crossbow, sighing.

"Let's just take care of them and move on." The Life student shrugged, getting little response from Talos as the pair moved to engage the undead.

Meanwhile, Gizmo had sneaked ahead of the pair, scouting ahead. Moving past two intersections, the knight kept to the sidewalk, managing to avoid detection from the Ghouls and Banshees that roamed the area. Soon, he was at a portion of the street which led to two different locations. To the east, Gizmo could find the entrance to the Haunted Cave… Whose gate had been busted open.

The Apprentice sighed. Of course. That's where the undead came from. Armed with knowledge of the source of Trident Avenue's problem, Gizmo looked over to the other location; a sole tower, standing with a couple of Ghouls guarding the entrance.

Now if that wasn't suspicious, Gizmo didn't know what was. He wish he could investigate, but, by himself, he couldn't get past the magic-wielding Ghouls. He'd have to wait for Calem and Talos to discover the tower for themselves…

* * *

Neil and Samantha were almost to the Theater. After receiving some advice from a Wizard City guard and a witch living on the street, the two students found that the leader of the Fire Elves was hiding within 'Fireglobe Theater', Firecat Alley's popular place for plays, musicals, and all sorts of events that have to do with the arts.

Today, however, Fireglobe Theater would be home to an intense battle.

Unaware that they were being stalked by the ever-quiet Garrett, Neil and Samantha made it to the theater, relatively uninterrupted. The building had statues of firecats on both sides of the entrance, giving the theater an extra 'regal' feel. The theater itself was large, seeming to be able to hold all of the residents of Firecat Alley within its walls.

Neil opened the door, politely holding it while Samantha drifted inside, keeping agile and alert as the two entered the building. The interior was shaped like a semicircle, with the stage of the theater on the side opposite to the entrance. The stage was large and rectangular, but in front of it was a somewhat smaller circular area, seemingly used for speeches and presentations. Was this theater also used as a forum…? Neil wouldn't know; he hadn't been here before, finding its plays and such to be a waste of time. Samantha would be caught dead in here, too. Both students were relatively antisocial, making this theater useless to them.

So what would be a familiar scene for most students was unfamiliar territory to the two students. They walked down, past the numerous seats, to the circular ground in front of the stage.

"Act 1, Scene 1: The Fall of the Two Delirious Wizards!"

An eccentric voice sounded across the entire theater, alerting the two. Two Fire Elves appeared from the sides of the stage, one dressed in the traditional red and yellow attire, with the other dressed in a dark red and orange color template. The orange Fire Elf was clearly the leader Neil and Samantha had been informed of, so he was the one they needed to bring down back to earth if they wanted to free Firecat Alley from its troubles.

"Let us begin!" He grinned, pulling out a tiny bow and arrow, fit for a tiny elf such as himself. His friend pulled out a bow and arrow as well, laughing.

Neil and Samantha kept the staffs at the ready, preparing themselves.

* * *

Brooke, Grace, and Tip stood in front of a confused, tall Cyclops, who looked at the IDs with a frown.

"Well…. You guys don't look like minotaurs…" He looked over to the three, confused. Grace smirked at this.

"But we have our IDs. No matter what we look like, we should be allowed to get in!" She grinned. And, well, this Cyclops wasn't exactly smart enough to argue… He shrugged, opening one of the large double doors which led inside the war room.

"Left this way!" The Cyclops saluted.

"Doesn't he mean 'right this way'?" Brooke whispered to Grace as the trio quietly entered the building.

"Who knows what he means? Cyclopses are dumbasses." The Storm student responded, shrugging. Tip grimaced at that.

"U-Uh, Grace…" He frowned, coming to a stop.

"What? It's true." The Storm student huffed, stopping to turn back to Tip. "They've got a negative IQ or something."

"N-No, I mean… Grace… Um.." Tip stared past her. Grace blinked, turning around casually…

Being met with a huge, angry Cyclops. The Cyclops had a golden helmet that reached down to his neck. He also had a large, stone hammer equipped, which he softly pat against his free hand, growling.

"How dare you! As General of Cyclops Lane, I will strike you down!" General Akilles shouted. "Prepare for swift justice!"

"... Whoops…?" Grace smiled sheepishly while Brooke glared at her and Tip stood nervously.

The three would have to fight one of the strongest creatures in Wizard City now if they wanted to keep Cyclops Lane safe. The battle began.

* * *

Calem Lifearrow had a lot of time to think to himself. With his only ally being a silent, stone golem, it was clear he wasn't going to get much in the way of conversation. So the centaur quietly made his way through the battles and through Trident Avenue, thinking to himself about what was going on, about Tip, about how Samantha was doing...

His thoughts didn't add up to anything, however. Despite being strong and friendly, Calem didn't have much in the intelligence department. Perhaps it was because of this that he trusted Tip so easily, despite some of the mystery surrounding the boy.

And perhaps it was because of this that the upcoming battle would be so hard.

Calem entered the tower after defeating the Ghouls protecting it. He, like Gizmo, realized that the Ghouls must've been guarding something in here, and, because of this, he wanted to investigate. What he found wasn't disappointing.

A large scarecrow with a pumpkin head floated in the middle of the tower, staring directly at Calem and Talos. The thing cackled, letting a crow that was perched onto his shoulder glare at them.

"And here I thought they'd be sending wizards to defeat me!" The creature laughed. "But instead, I get a horse and a statue!"

Calem glared, readying his crossbow. "At least we weren't ripped out of a Halloween dollar store."

"Oh, good one." The thing sarcastically remarked. "I'll have you know, boy, that I'm the Harvest Lord! The new ruler of Trident Avenue! And I will bring about your end!"

A WDC was summoned in the center of the tower. Calem and Talos were pulled in alongside the Harvest Lord.

Talos prepared himself, pointing his stone sword at the Harvest Lord menacingly. The summon probably wasn't thought of as being too smart, but if he could speak, there'd be a few witty remarks being thrown at the Harvest Lord right now.

"Let's send him back to October, Talos!" Calem grinned, loading his crossbow. This should be simple, the centuar thought. Simply attacking until the Harvest Lord was down should work, especially since Talos was Myth and the enemy was Storm. This joker would be down in two turns.

Unfortunately, the Harvest Lord had the first turn, and, because of this, Calem's hopes were crushed. The first spell he used was Myth Shield, a spell which caused a large, yellow shield to appear in front of the scarecrow. The creature laughed.

"Your Myth magic will do nothing now! Give up and I will make this quick!"

Talos would have grimaced if he could. Having the last turn, he might've had time to switch up his spell, but, even then, all of his attacks were Myth. His spells were all Myth. Would he really become so useless so quickly?

"Oh shut up!" Calem Lifearrow glared, shooting a crossbow bolt at the Halloween-themed creature. A Seraph appeared with a long, golden sword.

"Be cleansed!" The summon shouted, holding her sword up and summoning a holy light around the Harvest Lord. The damage was, unfortunately, minimal; it had only gotten the Harvest Lord down to yellow health.

Talos's turn came. The summon managed to transport himself to the center of the WDC, slashing at the Harvest Lord… But his attacks did nothing. The shield blocked everything. Even after several merciless swings, the shield stood strong, protecting its master.

Talos went back to his spot in the WDC, discouraged. Defeat was no longer a distant melody; it may be very real. If Calem couldn't keep himself in this battle, they were doomed.

* * *

Neil tried very hard to keep himself and Samantha safe while the Death student attacked. For the first turn, it seemed to work. Samantha took out the Fire Elf, Neil used Legion Shields… But then, something incredible happened.

The Fire Elf leader summoned himself into the center of the WDC, and he took two shots. One at Neil, the other at Samantha. Both shots easily pierced through the shields, hitting the students for a heavy amount of damage. Both were down to yellow semi-circles.

"Tower Shield!" Neil used his signature Ice Spell on Samantha, hoping to at least keep the attacker of the two safe. The Death student nodded in appreciation, using Spear Frenzy.

Spear Frenzy was Samantha's favorite spell. It targeted only one enemy, but dealt a great amount of Death damage through the form of a few pitch black spears. The WDC would become dark, allowing the spears that floated around the enemy to become camouflaged in the darkness; the spears were pointed directly at them, but it was the simple fact that the enemy didn't know when to prepare for the attack that struck fear into their heart. Samantha liked seeing that fear. The fear that arose on a monster's face before they were hit mercilessly with her powerful, levitating spears.

Unfortunately, despite the amazing power of the attack… It did very little against the Fire Elf.

"Hehehe~" He grinned, summoning himself into the WDC once more. The creature took out his bow and arrow, aiming towards Samantha, a move which Neil couldn't help but question; Neil didn't have a shield, so he was much easier to take out, and-

The shield broke.

The shield did absolutely nothing against the Fire Elf's arrow.

"Shit! Neil!" Samantha cursed, now in the red. Neil hadn't seen that before. A bow and arrow that could pierce through any defense… He stood, not knowing what to do for a moment. What could he do…?

* * *

The turn order wasn't very favorable for the trio in Cyclops Lane. The general went first, followed by Tip, Grace, and Brooke. However, despite this, their spirits were high; this guy didn't seem too strong.

And, well, they were right; he wasn't very strong. But he could take a beating. After two turns of Grace and Brooke doing their worst, the Cyclops was only at yellow health, going on orange.

"Your attacks are meaningless to me!" General Akilles roared. "My honor will not be broken that easily!"

He slammed his hammer into the middle of the WDC, causing a small ripple of the earth which managed to break the concentration of the wizards, sending them down to orange health.

"Shit! If we don't take this guy out next turn, we're done!" Grace's eyes widened.

"Here!" Tip called, using an Elemental Blade on Grace. Brooke and Grace were pretty even in terms of power, so Tip simply alternated who he gave the Elemental Blades to. However, it was becoming pretty clear that, if he didn't give the girls more support, they'd lose the battle…

And then they'd fail their mission… The Apprentice had to prevent that. He simply had to. There was a way, but… If he did that, they'd…

He grimaced. He'd figure out an excuse. It didn't matter to him anymore.

The next turn rolled around, after Brooke and Grace had attacked the Cyclops with their Fire and Storm spells. The General slammed the ground once more, bringing everyone down to red. The triangle moved to Tip and, by that time, even if he wanted to back out of his decision, doing so would simply guarantee their defeat. He'd have to go through with it.

The boy cast a powerful Balance spell. Bladestorm wasn't necessarily too powerful, but it was considered an adept-level spell, one that couldn't be mastered easily. It summoned two transparent, white blades; one above Grace and the other above Brooke. Essentially, what Bladestorm did was give all of the user's allies Balanceblades. It was a way of giving one's entire team a great amount of support in a short amount of time. It tired Tip out a little, but the spell wasn't as tough to use as some of the other things he knew.

"Wait, how did- Screw it!" Grace, having very little time to think through what Tip just did, cast Lightning Blast. She put a great deal of power into the spell, using her Balanceblade to help strengthen the spell even further. Soon, the lightning she controlled was fired at the General, breaking his concentration and bringing his circle down to a red mark.

"I've got this!" Brooke's eyes shined. She decided to use a different spell for this attack. A pile of ashes appeared in the middle of the WDC, seemingly useless, but, out of nowhere, a large burst of flame rose from the ashes in the form of a phoenix. The mystical phoenix let out a loud cry, flying into General Akilles.

Needless to say, the WDC dissipated, and the General fell to his knees.

"Enough…!" He gasped, managing to keep himself conscious despite the shock of losing a battle. "I-I surrender!... I've been defeated… Again…"

"Great!" Grace grinned, a look of power shining in her eyes as she told General Akilles her demands. "First, stop all of your minions and get them to be more nice to the people of Cyclops Lane. Then, keep the Trolls under control. After that, um… Get us some ice cream!"

The sudden realization that this guy was honor-bound to do whatever she said prevented Grace from thinking about what just happened. And perhaps she would've forgotten about the whole thing, had Tip not spoken up again.

"W-we don't need ice cream, though… I-I think we're done here…" Tip grimaced, not wanting to take advantage of the cyclops. Grace blinked, turning to Tip with a frown; that's right… That Bladestorm…

"No, we aren't done here yet." She glared, her skeptical nature rising back with a vengeance. "How the hell did you use Bladestorm? You said you were new here."

"I-I…" Tip Apprentice had been an okay liar so far. He had to keep it up. He knew he had to. Otherwise, they'd… Treat him differently, wouldn't they?

He didn't want that. He couldn't have that. He'd keep lying.

"I used a Treasure Card…" He frowned, keeping his cool. "S-So that's how…"

"First your staff, then the fact that you got in the academy at a weird time, now this? There's no way it's all coincidence, I don't believe you used a TC." Grace called him on his bluff, but, before she could go further, she felt herself get pushed to the side.

A glare far more piercing and fierce than Grace's was aimed at the Storm student.

"If he said he used a Treasure Card, then he used a Treasure Card!" Brooke stamped her foot on the ground. "Why is it that it's so hard for you to trust people!? You, Neil, and Sam are all too skeptical for your own good! You live in a world of magic, coincidences happen all the time!"

"B-But-" Just as last time Brooke began yelling, Grace tried to argue, but was cut short.

"I just want another friend! Is that too much to ask!?" The Fire wizard asked, tears in her eyes. Too mad at her friend's skeptical nature to say anything else, Summersong turned around, storming out of the war room. Grace stood, shocked, unable to process what had been said to her.

Tip, too, was shocked. He didn't know things were so tense between his friends…. He grimaced, looking towards the pale Grace Stormraven. He didn't think he'd ever see a confidence like her's shattered… The boy took a soft step forward to her.

"G-Grace…?" Tip squeaked. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, um…"

He tried to think of something to say, but… What could he say? 'Sorry for lying'? Then what would be the purpose of the lie? He didn't know what to say at all. He wished he could help, but there was nothing he could do. Grace stood, looking down.

"... Y-yeah, I'm… I'm sorry, too." She mumbled, making a sprint out of the war room and leaving the Balance wizard behind.

"Wait!..." Tip held out his hand, wanting to follow Grace, but knowing he'd never catch up. She was already out of the building. The boy grimaced. How could this have happened..? They were fighting as allies just a minute ago, and, suddenly, it was as if something had divided them…

Tip Apprentice stood in the room for a while, contemplating this to himself. General Akilles, meanwhile, was getting to work, fixing the damage he'd done, all while not speaking to the confused, silent boy.

* * *

Calem Lifearrow used a Holy Light to heal himself, grimacing as the Harvest Lord continued to target him.

Talos could do nothing. None of his attacks worked. He had no support spells. Calem was stuck healing himself so that he wouldn't go down, but with every heal, the scarecrow matched with an equally powerful attack.

"I can do this all day, y'know!" Calem glared. The Haunted Lord laughed.

"I could do this until Trident Avenue's destroyed!" His pumpkin eyes flashed with a small bit of flame, making his statement all the more menacing. If they didn't defeat this guy soon, the undead would still roam about and destroy Trident Avenue…

Gizmo Apprentice, who had been waiting outside, wondered if he should go in. There might be no other choice. He'd have to reveal himself if this kept up…

But, as it turned out, he didn't need to.

Gizmo hid in the bushes as Ivan slowly entered the tower with a yawn. "Yo, what's up…? Beat the bad guy yet?"

"Ivan, you asshole! Help me!" Lifearrow cried out, grimacing. Ivan smiled, unaffected by Calem's alarmed state.

"Mweh, I gotta do everything around here…" Ivan whined, shrugging softly. "K… Talos, you do it."

He gave the golem a golden card through the WDC. Talos stared at it, recognizing it as one of the Balance spells Ivan bought. Did Ivan know to buy it for this moment..?

Surely not. Talos dismissed the thought. The summon used the treasure card in the battle, giving Calem Lifearrow a Dragonblade, which was a much more advanced form of Balanceblade. It had white wings on its handle, looking more angelic and dignified compared to a regular old Balanceblade.

Calem got the idea. It he couldn't heal to save himself, he'd simply end the battle now.

The Harvest Lord was at orange health. If he could deal a decent enough attack…

After being hit again, Calem was in the red. But the centaur stood tall, pointing his crossbow towards the middle of the WDC.

"See you in hell!"

"Bro, that's way too cheesy…" Ivan frowned.

"What?" Calem blinked, shooting his bolt absent-mindedly. "Oh, c'mon, it's like the classic 'end battle' quote…"

"Nah. What you should say, is somethin' like… 'See you in the next Halloween clearance sale, freak'... That's good…" Ivan smiled sheepishly, chuckling. "Man, I'm good…"

"What? That was awful… Well… Okay, no, it was genius, but…" Lifearrow grumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"By the way, bro, you did it." Ivan pointed out. Calem took a moment from thinking about more things he could say at the ends of battles to look over at a lone, carved pumpkin on the other side of the tower. The WDC has dissipated and the Harvest Lord was defeated.

"... Oh. Cool." Calem grinned.

"... Think he keeps any candy for Halloween around here?" Ivan yawned, leaning against one of the tower's walls.

"Guess I'm about to find out!" Lifearrow laughed, checking around the tower. He hadn't gotten to look around the last tower he was in because of Tip being unconscious, but now, he could explore this monster's home to his heart's content. Maybe there's be cool treasure or candy or gold!

He checked around, practically ransacking the place, while Ivan gave a small smile to Talos, nodding in appreciation before desummoning the minion. That was enough work for today, he supposed.

* * *

Neil Frost had never thought he'd see a phenomenon such as this before in his life.

Neil and Samantha simply watched as the Fire Elf Leader's circle slowly disappeared, going from yellow to orange. They couldn't tell how it was going down. They both checked around the room, but there was nothing they could see that could be causing the damage…

"No! This is cheating!" The corrupted Fire Elf yelled. "How is this possible!? What is going on!?"

Garrett resisted the urge to snicker. While the students were off almost getting themselves killed, he had sneaked into the theater, gotten behind the stage, and climbed up to the catwalks, and hid behind a few props that were sorted up there, taking silent, quick shots at the enemy. He had a huge grin on his face, happy with himself; Neil and Samantha, the two most analytical students on campus, couldn't notice him! It was amazing! Even his bolts went undetected, as they zoomed by too quickly and hardly made a sound. Perhaps this constant shooting wasn't as boring as he thought it'd be.

Meanwhile, Neil and Samantha decided to use this time to counter-attack. By now, they were both in the red, and understood full-well that shields were worthless here. Neil pointed his staff towards the Fire Elf, glaring at him.

"Blizzard!"

The corrupted creature had a bad time.

His circle disappeared easily due to a combination of Garrett's bolts and Neil's Ice attack. The little archer fell to his knees, falling unconscious… And with that defeat, a dark aura rose from him, drifting away into the air.

"That should do it…" Samantha stared down at the unconscious Fire Elf. "How did that happen…? It was as if he was poisoned somehow…"

Neil simply shrugged. He had no clue. But, whatever it was, it was a blessing; if it didn't happen, they would have surely lost…

Samantha shrugged back, making to leave the theater. Neil followed, but, half-way to the exit, he stopped, turning around and looking towards the catwalks.

…

Nothing.

Neil shook his head, beckoned by the Death student, who was holding the exit open.

"C'mon. We have to go report to the Headmaster." Samantha frowned. Neil nodded softly, walking past Samantha and out of the theater. The whole thing was so strange, but, she was right; there was no time to question it. They had to see if they needed to help the others.

As Neil passed her, Sam looked into the theater one last time.

Yeah. Never going back in there again. Plays sucked.

She scoffed, closing the door behind her as she left for the Commons.


	8. Chapter 1-7: Festival Park

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-7**

" _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

Ivan Mythblade yawned, twirling a small stick in between his fingers out of boredom. He and Calem Lifearrow were making their way back to the Commons from the end of Trident Avenue. Well, Calem was. Ivan was just laying on his back, not bothering to walk; that'd be too much effort, after all.

"Y'know, I think I'll just skip out on this whole 'reporting to the Headmaster' thing." Ivan stretched, smiling slyly while Calem marched on. "Sounds boring."

"That's it? That's the only reason you're not going?" Calem groaned. "Dude, we could be praised as heroes. We could get a parade in our honor or something. You aren't going to be there just because you think it's boring?"

"Well that, and I'm pretty traumatized." Ivan chuckled. "I mean, I almost saw one of my best buds get beaten up by a cheap Halloween decoration. I probably shouldn't be there. For mental health reasons, y'know?"

"Now you're just saying stuff to get out of it…" Calem sighed. "Okay, what's up? Why are you really not going?"

Ivan grinned. "Like I said, I think it'll be boring. I just don't feel like it. Being called a hero or whatever.. Sounds like it'd put a lot of responsibility on me. You guys are better suited for that. I'ma just go to my happy place."

"Your happy place?" Calem raised an eyebrow, stopping and turning his human body to look at Ivan; but by the time he checked his back, Ivan was already gone.

He must've used a teleport spell… Clever bastard.

Calem Lifearrow sighed, walking home by himself. Ivan was always like this; he was lazy, a little incompetent at times, and avoided anything that might put some sort of responsibility on him. And yet, he was top of his class. Calem, alongside everyone else, could never puzzle that out. The Myth student was a mystery and, sometimes, Lifearrow felt like the only reason Ivan was still in their group was because everyone wanted to figure out what made him tick.

The centaur thought that was a bad idea, however. There was no way they'd ever find out what was up with Ivan. He was just weird.

That wasn't to say Calem didn't like having Ivan around, though; he was the only guy in the group that Calem felt he could talk to. Neil didn't "talk" or communicate unless it was about strategy and battling, so Ivan was Calem's only choice. Then again, there was Tip now, but the kid seemed really underconfident and shy. Maybe once he opened up, he'd be easier to talk to.

Calem Lifearrow sighed, exiting Trident Avenue. Well, the time for reflection was over; now he wanted to meet with the others and see what was going on.

* * *

Tip Apprentice arrived at Merle Ambrose's office alone. The trio had split, and, left to his thoughts in the war room, Tip decided to simply leave and wrap this mission up. Hopefully this would be the last thing he'd have to ask his friends to do with him… If it caused situations like that, he didn't want them to be with him any longer; the adventures might just split them apart.

Besides, with any luck, he may just get assigned to go directly to fight Malistaire anyway. Once that happened, he and his brothers could just take care of this whole mess and then he can try to live a normal life, right?

In the office with him was Neil, Samantha, Grace, and the Headmaster himself. Tip briefly wondered where Brooke, Calem, and Ivan could be… Perhaps Calem and Ivan were taking a while with their mission but, even then, where was Brooke…?

"I must apologize again for the danger I've put you in." Ambrose frowned, in the middle of speaking to the first three students. "I can assure you I won't ask anything that dangerous of you again."

"Hey, no problem here!" Grace smiled, seemingly back to her old self. "We're glad to help defend Wizard City! Right guys?"

Neil shrugged. To be honest, he didn't really care as much about this whole 'heroic recognition' thing compared to everyone else; he just wanted to know what was going on, and if there was anything he could do to help. But Ambrose's words made him frown softly, knowing that, even if anything else happened, the Headmaster may not wish to call upon him and the others again. He could understand that, though; after all, Headmaster Ambrose was a responsible old man, and he probably didn't like the idea of putting his students through a great deal of danger.

"Gotta admit, it was a lot better than training in the arena…" Samantha mumbled, giving the others a light smirk.

Tip remained quiet, staying near the entrance to the room. Headmaster Ambrose nodded to the boy, a silent sign of reassurance, though the Balance wizard still seemed a little startled about something; the old wizard could only wonder what that 'something' was…

The doors to the office opened again. Calem had to duck with his human body to fit through the doors to the relatively humble office, a smile on his face.

"Yo!" He grinned. "You're all okay!"

Neil gave a silent, expressionless thumbs up to the centaur to confirm that they were all okay. Samantha, meanwhile, tilted her head, crossing her arms.

"Where's Ivan? Wasn't he with you?" She questioned, frowning.

"He teleported off somewhere." Calem shrugged. "He didn't want to be here."

"Brooke isn't here, either. Probably because of some sort of disagreement, right?" Samantha glanced over to Grace, who frowned in response.

"Y-yeah…" She nodded softly. She didn't say what the disagreement was; if she mentioned anything, debate may spark again, and, frankly, she just wanted to drop her suspicions for right now. Now that the disagreement had been mentioned, however, her more positive nature was crushed once more, leaving a nervous, saddened girl in its place.

"Well, if you see your friends, please tell them I'm in their debt as well as yours." The Headmaster bowed his head. "I will come up with a reward for you all later. For now, I think everyone has earned some rest."

"Sounds good to me." Calem sighed. "I'm way too tired."

Accepting that as a sign to leave, Calem was the first out. Neil nodded to the Headmaster, following behind.

"I'm not even tired… But, whatever." Samanatha shrugged, following the others. Grace stayed, however, giving a nervous glance to Tip.

"... A-are you sure you used a treasure card…?" She asked once more, trying to regain her confidence.

Tip wasn't sure what to say. He knew he had to keep up with the lie, but to see Grace in this kind of mood, split between her skepticality and her loyalty… It definitely hurt him. He could just tell the truth and end this now; but then Project101 would be revealed, wouldn't it? The questions wouldn't stop, and…

And they'd treat him differently.

"Absolutely." He breathed, nodding. "It's the truth."

"..." Grace looked down. "... Fine, I believe you…"

She exited the room silently, leaving Tip and Ambrose to themselves. An awkward silence filled the air for a few moments.

Tip could only hope that he didn't have to lie for much longer… He grimaced, looking downwards. He felt terrible.

"Thank you." The Headmaster spoke up. "We can't let them know anything. Not only would it spark fear and despair throughout the city, but people may look for the Stardust we used to create you…"

"A-and that'd be too much power for people to find…. Right?" Tip frowned. "I… I understand… I just want it to be over…"

Merle Ambrose gave the boy a reassuring smile. "It won't be long. Just keep at it. I believe in you and your brothers."

"..." The Apprentice nodded softly. "I'm… I'm just going to go get some fresh air…"

He exited the office nervously, leaving the Headmaster alone. He needed to clear his thoughts…

* * *

Tip had decided to go back to Cyclops Lane. In the middle of the Myth-themed area, there was a beautiful park, coated with green grass and split by tranquil, lovely rivers of light blue water. Tip crossed a small, stone bridge to the center of this park.

Festival Park was a long walk from Ravenwood, so it was usually empty and quiet unless there was an event going on or unless Cyrus gave out a particularly hard and boring lesson. In that case, the park would be filled with pissed Myth teenagers.

Luckily, today was a day off for the students of Ravenwood, so it was perfectly quiet in the park. That was probably why Ivan was here, sleeping on a wooden stage in the center of the park.

The stage was used for all sorts of things during events such as plays, musicals, and concerts. But, for now, it was home to the lazy Myth student, who constantly used Festival Park as a getaway from his problems. It was his 'happy place'.

"I-Ivan…?" Tip blinked, not expecting to find him here. The boy walked up to him, climbing on top of the stage to get a better view. Yeah, he was asleep… Just laying on his back, on the stage, without a care in the world…

For a moment, Tip Apprentice wondered if he had the right idea. Maybe now was the time to just lay down and try to calm himself down…

Sitting beside the sleeping teen, Tip softly fell over, laying on his side on the wooden stage. It wasn't too comfortable, but…

He felt a soft gust of wind hit his back. He could hear birds chirping in some of the lushious, green trees in the park. There was a peaceful silence at first, but as Tip began to immerse himself in the nature of the world around him, he could hear more; the birds got louder, but their voices got prettier, and he began to realize that it was as if they were singing. He could hear the gentle clashing of the rivers, slowly but surely easing him into a sense of peace and stability.

"Nice, ain't it?"

Tip's eyes widened, but he didn't move. He didn't feel like he could, with how peaceful everything felt now… Even if he was surprised that Ivan had woken up so suddenly.

"Um… Yeah…" The Balance wizard agreed softly. "I feel like I could stay here forever, actually…"

"Yeah, me too." Ivan sat up, hugging his knees. "It's a pretty nice place."

"Mhm…" Tip mumbled, yawning. "Do you come here often…?"

"All the time. It's practically home." The Myth student grinned. "Usually I'm alone here, so I can just get some rest without anyone bothering me. Well, sometimes this dork with a guitar comes over, but I can sleep through most of his tunes… If you wanna call them 'tunes'." He chuckled.

"Oh…" The Apprentice smiled; he hadn't actually gotten to know Ivan much at all, so, to hear him open up a bit was kind of nice. He seemed like a nice guy, it was just that he didn't talk much; or, rather, he was too busy sleeping to talk…

"But, yeah. I get to sleep here all the time, and nobody ever wakes me up. It rules." Ivan put on a big, goofy grin. "Then I can just summon Talos to carry me back to my dorm when I'm done out here. Or to Golem Court… Wherever I feel like going, I guess."

"What do you do in your dorm if you spend all your time sleeping out here?" Tip asked, curious. It seemed odd… It was as if Ivan was always tired. He wasn't sure if that was because he had a weird sleep schedule, or if it was because he was just that lazy…

"Sleep more." Mythblade shrugged. "What else would I do?"

"I dunno… Not sleep?" Tip blinked, somewhat confused. Was that all this guy did..?

"Nah.." Ivan laid back down. "I like sleeping. It's my favorite passtime."

"What are your other favorite passtimes?" The Apprentice asked, turning over to look at Ivan, who grinned in response.

"Dreaming and snoring, I guess." He chuckled.

"Is that really all you do?" Tip frowned. "That can't be healthy…"

"I think I'm pretty healthy." Ivan shrugged off. "What about you? You feeling alright, kid?"

"Huh?" The Apprentice blinked; well, yeah, he felt okay… Oh, wait! He almost forgot…

He dug into his pockets, taking out a small, yellow tablet. He plopped it into his mouth, swallowing it quickly.

"Th-thanks Ivan! I almost forgot to take that…" The boy sighed in relief. Phew… It would've been bad if he forgot for too long. He'd end up pretty sick, according to Professor Balestrom…

"Mmm… No problem, buddy…" Ivan yawned. He would've asked what that was, but Ivan simply didn't care. He already knew something was up with Tip, but, really, he didn't mind whatever it was; after all, it wasn't hurting him anytime soon, right? So it wasn't any of his business, and he didn't feel like prying. And besides, prying took effort.

Ivan Mythblade didn't put effort into anything. 'Effort' was not part of his vocabulary.

"Hey, Ivan?" Tip checked to see if he was still awake.

"Yeah…?" The Myth student put his hands behind his head, looking over at Tip, who was standing up now.

"Could you help remind me to take that stuff…?" The Apprentice asked. "It's important, and… I think you're the only one I can ask who won't… Um… Take it the wrong way."

That is, Tip Apprentice realized Ivan didn't care. If he did, he'd be wondering why Tip was here, or why he had to take a pill in the first place. Perhaps he wouldn't suspect him; perhaps he wouldn't share any of this information about him to the others… Maybe he could confide in Ivan?

… Maybe he would later. But, for now, he only had this simple request.

"Heh… You're askin' the wrong guy, but… How important are those pills?" Ivan frowned.

"Life or death." Tip answered seriously. A small moment of silence passed.

"... Yeah, sure. Can't have some guy dyin' on me because he forgot to take some medicine." Mythblade laid down flat, yawning. "Come back sometime, I'll remind ya."

"Thank you." The Apprentice smiled softly. Ivan was a good guy, after all…. Tip hopped off of the stage, walking away. That was enough rest for now. His mind was cleared, and he felt closer to one of his friends…

* * *

It was on his way through Olde Town that Tip noticed a spark of flame in an alleyway between two small houses. He backed up for a moment, peering into the alleyway. The small, orange flame was being held by someone… And, as he tried to make that 'someone' out, he suddenly realized who it was.

Slipping into the alleyway, Tip watched as Brooke Summersong played with her small flame, bouncing it up and down in the palm of her hand.

"Hi…" He greeted with a small voice, sitting next to her. He watched the flame with interest, not able to take his eyes off of it; the way it moved and seemingly danced around.. It intrigued him.

"Oh!" Brooke blinked, glancing over to Tip. She was surprised to see him here; he didn't think anyone would come looking for her… He thought it was pretty sweet of him to talk to her. "Yeah, hi… How are you?"

"I'm okay." Tip smiled, taking his eyes off of the flame for a moment to look over to Brooke. "Are you okay?"

He wanted to make sure what happened in Cyclops Lane hadn't hurt her too much. The girl looked down for a moment, frowning.

"Uh, well, you know…" She sighed, extinguishing her flame and hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm alright, I guess, I just… Look, I'm really sorry about Grace… I don't get why she doesn't trust you…"

They were in the dark now, but close enough that they could still see each other. Because of that, Tip could see the hurt on Brooke's face; she was clearly distressed about what happened… Did he cause that…?

…

"It's fine… But… Thank you." He gave her a small, soft smile. "Thank you for believing in me…"

Brooke's eyes lit up at that, and in just a few moments, she, too, was smiling. "Well, why wouldn't I? We're friends, we're supposed to believe in each other… I just don't think everyone gets that…" She awkwardly chuckled, shrugging that last comment off.

"Well, it's a really nice feeling, and I want you to know I really appreciate it." The Apprentice assured. "I'm sorry if I'm causing any unnecessary tension…"

"It's okay. It isn't your fault." Brooke assured back, smiling softly and putting a hand on his shoulder. "But, hey, can I ask you something…?"

"Yeah?" Tip blinked, looking over to Brooke. She had a serious, worried expression on her face.

"... Did you really use a Treasure Card?"

"..."

Tip froze. This wasn't like when Grace asked him the same thing in the Headmaster's office… Here, the two were alone. It was dark, and he felt as if they were in their own little world, where he could tell her anything… But, could he really? Should he really?

"... N-No…" Tip mumbled, looking down. "I didn't…"

What had he done? He said it. He just went ahead and said it, but… Why? Why did he feel a bigger need to tell the truth to Brooke than he did to Grace? Didn't they both equally deserve to know the truth? They were both his friends, weren't they?

"Why did you lie, then?" Brooke asked softly, her expression not changing. The boy hugged his knees, feeling desperate. He didn't want to say, he couldn't say, he just…

"I'm sorry, I… I can't tell you…" The Apprentice grimaced, tears forming in his eyes. "I-I can't…"

"..." Brooke sighed, but smiled anyway, hugging Tip. "Sssh… It's okay, I don't mind…" She certainly was confused, but, whatever his reason for lying was, it was obvious she wasn't going to get it out of him right now. She'd just have to accept that there was something he needed to hide and, maybe, one day, she could convince him that he didn't need to hide whatever that was…

The boy broke down in her arms, crying. "I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" He whispered softly, trying to pull himself back together. Brooke kept him in her embrace, frowning; she had no idea what was going on, but… Tip was still her friend, right? She had to help him.

So the two stayed like this for a minute, in the darkness, hidden away in Olde Town.

* * *

"Hmph. You think I'll have a single problem taking down these fools?" A dark, cloaked figure that was slouched over and wielding a large, steel scythe in his right hand asked. He seemed disgruntled, almost angry about something.

"They're not to be underestimated, Nightshade." Rattlebones warned. "It only took two of them to defeat me, and-"

"So? You're a weakling, Rattlebones." Lord Nightshade scoffed. "I will destroy any wizards who dare confront me and send them in bodybags, back to Wizard City."

"..." Rattlebones crossed his arms, taking offense to that, but deciding not to start a fight. He was secretly hoping that the wizards could beat this bastard now, though… "Well, Malistaire and I are going to retrieve the wand he needs to awaken the Fire Titan, so it's your job to distract everyone here before they realize what's going on. Keep the undead coming."

"Of course." Lord Nightshade smirked. "Leave it to me, my incompetent friend."

"... I'll show you." Rattlebones scoffed, turning around and walking out of the tower.

But not before tripping and landing on his face, causing Lord Nightshade to howl with laughter.

Today was going to be a loooooooong day...


	9. Chapter 1-8: The Haunted Cave

**From the Spiral - Chapter 1-8**

" _From the Spiral" is a story revolving around a Balance wizard's struggle as he tries to balance his social life, his duty, and his secrets as he and his two brothers try to stop Malistaire before it's too late._

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is inspired by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times._

* * *

It's always so cold here. That's why I always grab my favorite purple robe before walking out of my tree. Usually I stayed inside, but with events such as the fate of the Spiral at hand, I need time to ponder to myself with some fresh air.

Merle Ambrose, I believe, has made an error. He isn't putting enough faith in his students, making these three creations of his do all of the work instead. However, I know that, no matter what, without outside help, this trio will fail in their adventure. Malistaire will not be defeated by a party consisting of only one wizard. There's no hope for that.

I've considered sending some sort of message. Leaning against my gnarled, wooden staff, I think to myself of how I could accomplish such a thing. Perhaps through one of my minions? Well, no, that would be impossible... I would have to come up with something else.

Perhaps I could contact Bartleby? He's an old friend, but I haven't managed to get a hold of him lately, with all this Malistaire madness. I shake my head, thinking further. There has to be a way to contact him or someone else, and give them advice…

You see, if I can't tell someone that this trio simply won't do by themselves, the Spiral may be doomed. Because of this… I'd like you to give the message to Bartleby. He will know what to do.

You can do that, can't you?... You can hear me, can't you? I know you can. Say something.

…

Still choosing to be silent? Speak up, please. I want to know who you are. Who has the Spiral destined for me to guide…?

…

I cannot help you if you don't speak up. Say something.

…

I sigh. Perhaps I will piece together who you are as I continue to watch over this adventure. I do not know why you insist on staying silent, but, I hope you can speak to Bartleby for me. Please. If not for me, then for the Spiral.

Thank you.

I enter my tree, praying silently that you will pull through for me.

* * *

Unicorn Way's park was decorated with all sorts of colorful balloons, streamers, and misc. decorations, all seeming fit for a grand party. There were plenty of picnic tables set up, and it seemed as if almost the entire student body was here to celebrate and socialize. Brooke and Grace in particular were sitting at one of the tables, enjoying themselves; for a while, they forgot about all of the strange things going on around the academy, with all of the secrets and attacks and undead and such. Now was a time to talk and relax.

Well, it was for them. For Garrett and Gizmo, it was another day on the job. Today, they were residing near the front of the park, keeping somewhat out of sight and watching over the festivities. They had to keep alert in case anything happened and they were needed. Tip would have been there too, but the brothers would rather have it so that he could be with his friends, enjoying the party with them… Too bad he didn't seem to show up at all. Tip Apprentice was nowhere to be seen. Garrett and Gizmo shrugged this off; he did seem a little down when he got back to the dorm last night. Perhaps he was just tired.

While guarding, Gizmo couldn't help but listen in on a certain conversation. Two of Tip's friends, Calem and Ivan, were talking near the entrance of the park, and were also near Gizmo's position; the knight waved his eavesdropping off, reassuring himself that it wasn't his fault; even if he didn't want to hear their conversation, he'd have to go out of his way by covering his ears or something.

"... Yeah, I'm just going to ditch." Calem frowned. "This whole party thing's awesome, but, uh… Not feeling it…"

"Yeah, not feeling it…" Ivan grinned. "C'mon, don't sell me that crap, bro… You're just sad Sam's not here."

"That's not it!" Lifearrow shook his head, flustered. "I-I just don't feel well, I swear! I'm probably just sick or something."

"Yeah, I can tell." Ivan yawned, shrugging softly. "You look like you've got a fever. Maybe you're lovesick."

Gizmo covered his mouth, trying not to laugh. That was pretty witty on the lazy Myth student's part. Calem groaned, lowering his head.

"Eh, screw you… I'm just gonna go." He sighed. "What are you gonna do?"

"I've got important business to attend to." Ivan grinned. "Fate-of-the-world shit."

"Riiiight…" Calem rolled his eyes. "And by that, you mean you're gonna go off to take a nap somewhere?"

"Maybe." The Myth student shrugged. Calem took this as a definite 'yes', and the centaur shook his head. Of course.

"Welp, see ya." Lifearrow waved, rushing out of the park.

Gizmo took this as a chance to check the scene. He hadn't been watching, as he'd been keeping his eyes to the park, but as soon as he checked where Calem and Ivan were…

Ivan was gone, too.

… Weird.

The knight shrugged it off. Must've been a teleport spell.

* * *

Samantha walked through Ravenwood, her menacing scythe in her hands as she checked around, noticing how empty and quiet it seemed now. There was some sort of celebration going on in Unicorn Way for all of the recent 'heroic deeds' done by students, and she'd be damned if she was going; however, it seemed literally everyone else disagreed. Ravenwood was quiet and empty…

Well, quiet, at least. Samantha noticed one person on a bench, reading his Ice textbook silently. Yeah, of course Neil Frost didn't go; he probably felt the same way about all of this 'party' stuff. It was so, so dumb.

The Death student checked around for anyone else. Near Bartleby, she did notice someone, out of the corner of her eye… Or, at least, she thought she did. Samantha walked over to Bartleby, checking around, but not finding a soul. She shook her head; maybe it was her imagination…?

"You." Samantha suddenly heard a voice, looking up. Was that... ?

Bartleby seemed to be looking down at the Death student with his one good eye. The tree, based off of his expression, seemed… Distressed. As if something horrible was happening.

"Please, wizard… This celebration, it was a mistake." Bartleby spoke, his booming voice seemingly breaking in fear. "A creature known as Lord Nightshade is using this as an opportunity to attack. Go find some friends. Go to the Haunted Cave. End this."

"What?" Samantha stared, unable to process this. "Lord Nightshade? What in the hell are you talking about?"

Only Samantha Nightspear would be so disrespectful to one of the gods of the Spiral. But Bartleby took no offense. He said nothing more. The Death student shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order… Before feeling a pat on her shoulder. She turned around quickly, seeing Neil there, pushing his glasses up.

"We need to go." He frowned. "Calem should be here any second. We can go there with him."

"What? What makes you say-" Sam was about to question Neil's logic, but, suddenly, Calem Lifearrow entered Ravenwood, noticing the two and running up to them.

"Hey!" He grinned, happy to see his friends. "What's up?"

"... You clever son of a bitch.." Samantha mouthed to Neil, who simply shrugged the comment off. She had no idea how he did that; sometimes, it was as if the Ice Wizard just knew what was going to happen… Well, then again, he was like that. He wouldn't be a good strategist if he couldn't predict things.

"We need to go to the Haunted Cave. This isn't over." Neil spoke quickly, looking over to Calem. "Have you seen anyone else outside of the party?"

"What? Um… Well, Ivan, but he's probably off sleeping somewhere, uh… What do you mean it's not over?" The centaur raised an eyebrow.

"Something's going to launch some kind of attack. Bartleby told me." Samantha informed. "It's crazy. But we should go check it out."

"You saw no one else?" Neil made sure. "If we could get another person, we'd have a full team for this."

"Well, I mean… I didn't see Tip at the party." Calem realized. "I bet I know where he is. I can go grab him while you guys get a head start to the Haunted Cave?"

"Sounds good. Get moving, horse boy." Samantha nodded to him, running off. Neil followed, leaving Calem behind.

"... Why do I have a crush on her…?" Calem groaned, annoyed by her nickname, but running off anyway.

As the three ran off, a figure who had been hiding slowly became visible, glancing around. Heh. Well, that worked exactly as they hoped. With that push from Bartleby, they were doing exactly what the figure wanted.

They grinned, leaving Ravenwood. Bartleby watched as the figure walked off, still with a huge question floating around in his head…

What was that person's connection to Grandmother Raven?

* * *

Tip was riding on Calem's back, holding on as he rushed through Trident Avenue. The boy certainly wasn't expecting this… He had been picked up at Golem Court, where he was hiding away from the big party. He hadn't felt like going after what happened yesterday, and, now, it seemed that was for the best. Now he could help with whatever was going on here.

"S-So Samantha was told by Bartleby that there was someone ordering around the attacks?" Tip frowned, trying to piece this together.

"Yeah! Some guy called Lord Nightshade!" Calem called out, keeping a decent pace through the stormy street. "If we can defeat him, this will all be over!"

"Really…?" Tip's eyes widened. Honestly, for the Apprentice, things would not be 'over' once Lord Nightshade was out of the picture, but… Knowing that he could help the group take another step forward was nice. It filled him with a certain kind of optimism he couldn't get anywhere else.

The only problem was that, once again, it seemed his friends would have to be put in danger.

Garrett and Gizmo weren't here. It was only Tip and three of his friends. If they lost this, there was no doubt that they would be killed by whatever this creature was. If they failed…

Tip grimaced. They couldn't fail. They had to win, and then, he'd make sure nothing like this happened ever again. It'd just be him and his two brothers after this. It had to be.

But for now, he simply had no choice. He and Calem were already almost there, and it seemed his friends were determined to help; there was no changing their minds or trying to get someone else to help. It was now or never.

The two arrived at the broken gate to the Haunted Cave. There, Neil and Samantha were waiting quietly, examining their weapons.

"Alright! Got him!" Calem grinned, gesturing to the Tip on his back. "Now, what's the plan?"

"I checked further down the cave. There's tons of undead in there… I don't think we can take them all out." Samantha frowned, looking over to Neil. Neil nodded, confirming this.

"We need to get past them." He frowned. "Calem, how fast do you think you can run with all three of us on you…?"

"Uh…" Lifearrow thought to himself for a moment. "Still pretty fast, I guess… You guys are light. Why?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Calem was surprised this was working.

With his three friends on his back, they surprised the undead, running straight past them. Calem was swift and agile, avoiding the undead and going fast enough that none of them had time to even think about making a WDC to stop them. Samantha had fun with this, hanging her scythe off to Calem's right and cutting a few undead down around the way.

"Haha! Damn, I could do this all day!" She grinned, watching the heads of a few ghouls roll.

The Haunted Cave was a very fearsome place, even if the four were making quick work of it now. It was dark, with only remnants of a past street there. There was also a large, sole tower at the end of the street, and that, if anywhere, was certainly where Lord Nightshade was going to be.

Calem made quick time to the tower. Finally getting past the crowd of ghouls and banshees, the four made it to the tower, and the centaur stopped in front of the door. Neil got off and quickly opened the door, ushering the other three in. Once they got inside, he, too, stepped inside the tower and shut the door behind him, using a bit of Ice magic to freeze the door shut.

Neil had everyone set up teleport locations right outside of the Haunted Cave. This was done so that, once this battle was over, they could get out of the area without having to go through a massive crowd of the undead again. Their mission was to kill Lord Nightshade and get out. The rest of the undead would scatter as soon as their leader was gone.

Hopefully the rest of this would go smoothly. Neil turned around, examining the room.

It was dark in here. The only lights around were from the dark red flames shining from candles that filled the room. In the center of the tower was a large figure in a cloak, holding a scythe. As the students looked closer, they realized that this creature was a Wraith, a powerful undead being. Its skeletal form pierced their hearts… Well, actually, it only pierced Tip's heart, as the boy was trying his best to hide behind a centaur right now.

"Visitors so soon…? You didn't even give me time to prepare… I like that." The Wraith grinned, floating back to give himself some room. "Maybe this will actually be a challenge."

"Do you really think you stand a chance? You're outnumbered!" Calem glared, pointing his crossbow at the creature.

"Oh, I stand more than a chance…" The space within Lord Nightshade's eyesockets began to glow red with bloodlust. "You fools… Enjoy these moments. They will be your last!"

* * *

You… Did what I asked?

If you're so compliant, why won't you talk to me?

…

You're a strange one. But I think I can trust you. I will need you to help me with some other things as this adventure goes on… Do you think you can do that for me?

… Right, of course. You won't respond. Well. I'm going to go back to watching over the heroes…

* * *

The WDC had started. Neil was first, followed by Tip, Calem, and Samantha, then Lord Nightshade.

It seemed like it'd be easy at first. Neil simply motioned for everyone to proceed with caution, not knowing exactly how to combat this enemy just yet.

"Legion Shields!" He called out, causing shields to appear, which would protect him and his friends.

Tip, meanwhile, kept in mind that he couldn't use any of his more powerful spells here. If he did… Well, he wasn't getting let off so easy. He'd have to be careful. Trying to reassure himself, the Balance wizard summoned green, yellow, and black blades above Samantha; Spirit Blade would boost someone's next Life, Myth, or Death attack. It should work with her Death spells.

"Alright, I'm stickin' to support." Calem shrugged, seeing no reason to attack just yet. He shot a crossbow bolt into the middle of the WDC, causing a light green charm to appear above his head. It had the image of a shining star on it; this charm was called 'Divine Light', and would cause Calem's next healing spell to become more effective.

Samantha decided to play it safe, just like the others. She summoned a dark blade above her; it was called a Deathblade, and it would help power her next spell. The triangle in the middle of the WDC shifted to point at Lord Nightshade.

He spun his scythe in his right hand, grinning. "We'll see how you fools like this!"

He summoned a strange beast into the WDC. It wore dark, steel armor and had a heavy, menacing-looking axe. It stood up straight, seemingly humanoid, but had fur and antlers… Was this a deer of some sort? It looked threatening, yet so strange at the same time… It had a menacing glare as it swung its axe around, spinning with it, and hitting all four of the wizards with a wide swing; it was a good thing physical damage wasn't felt in the WDC, or they might all very well be dead…

The summon disappeared, and Neil's shields were gone. They were all down to yellow health.

"Calem, hold off. Save your power for a stronger attack." Neil advised, placing down more Legion Shields. If that was really what Lord Nightshade was opening up with, it wasn't too impressive… Granted, it would've done a lot more had it not been for Neil's shields, but the Ice student still wasn't particularly threatened.

"Sir yes sir." Calem grinned. After Tip placed a Balanceblade on Samantha, he passed, not using any spells but, instead, opting to prepare himself for more powerful spells. Samantha, now with three boosts on her, grinned, preparing her scythe.

"I'm going to cut you up bad…" Samantha's eyes glowed a dark purple color for a moment as she cast her spell, sending herself in the WDC.

Her boosts disappeared as the Death student raised her scythe, glaring wildly at the wraith. She slashed from her right, then from her left, then from above, then went for another slash to the right, then to the left, up, right, left, right, left, up, right, up, left…

After a few more slashes, she backed off, disappearing back into her spot in the WDC, thoroughly satisfied.

However, looking at what damage she'd done, she frowned. Lord Nightshade was in the orange, but that was only half-way. The creature laughed, using a Deathblade on himself.

"That knight from before… Did you know he heals me depending on how much damage I do?" The wraith revealed. "Next turn… I'll just undo everything you've done to me! Isn't that fantastic? We could be here until the end of time!"

Neil's eyes widened. He looked over to the others. "We all need to attack. Now."

"Wh-what!?" Tip seemed taken aback. "C-can we really, I mean.. Samantha just hit him really hard, and that only took him half-way…!"

"It's the only chance we have." Neil glared. Tip was frozen for a moment, wanting to argue more; of course, he had to, because…

"Wait! Tip can't attack!" Calem grimaced. "He doesn't know any attacking spells!"

"What!?" Samantha interjected, caught off-guard. "What kind of wizard doesn't know a single attacking spell?"

"I-It's true! I'm sorry!" Tip grimaced, realizing this victory may be lost due to his incompetence. He looked ready to burst into tears, but Neil offered another solution.

"Just boost Calem." Neil shook his head. "We'll have to hope for the best…"

The Apprentice looked down; he wiped his face free of tears, pulling himself together for a moment. As much as he wanted to cry and whine… There wasn't anymore time. He needed to keep going, even if he was on the verge of an overwhelming despair.

"O-Okay…" He grimaced. Neil nodded, casting an Ice Spell.

Unfortunately, it wasn't anything spectacular. A large bolt of ice appeared in the center of the WDC, aimed at Lord Nightshade; it shot right into him, dealing a moderate amount of damage. But he was still in the orange.

It was at this point Tip got an idea. He… He could get away with something here… If he could just…

"Spirit Blades!"

Tip was never the type to call out spells, but this was for a special purpose. As the blades appeared over Calem, the Apprentice's eyes shined as he realized they had no noticeable difference compared to the earlier Spirit Blades…

But the ones he just used were incredibly different. They were a mastered form of Spirit Blades, which boosted for far more than the base spell. Balestrom dubbed this and the Elemental Blades version with the appendix 'X', as if that would make them sound really cool. Spirit Blades X. Elemental Blades X. Balestrom was not good at naming things.

Tip watched as Calem shot a bolt into the middle of the WDC, trying to have some confidence that the centaur could muster an attack strong enough to defeat Lord Nightshade.

Calem Lifearrow appeared in the center of the WDC, not expecting this to work too well, but mustering a strong try. He aimed his crossbow directly at Lord Nightshade, glaring.

"Take this, you bastard!" He cried out, shooting a bolt directly into the wraith. Much to everyone's surprise, Lord Nightshade's concentration dropped to the red.

"W-wha…" The monster stared. He looked up to see Calem reloading his crossbow with a grin.

"See you in the next Halloween clearance sale, freak!" Lifearrow laughed, firing once more. Lord Nightshade's red mark had disappeared. The WDC dissipated, leaving a standing, shocked wraith.

"..." He stared for a moment… And only for a moment. With nothing more to say, the undead creature clutched at its chest, breathing softly.

After just a couple more seconds, Lord Nightshade was gone. His bones dispersed, and suddenly, his body became ash, and the undead leader was left as a pile of waste on the floor.

"I-I can't believe it.. How the hell did I do that!?" Calem grinned, turning to the others. Neil and Samantha were just as surprised, though Tip only had a big smile on his face.

"That was amazing! I knew you could do it!" He praised, beaming. Neil, shaking his head, was still a little dumbfounded, but managed to shake it off; after all, they were in a near-death situation… A sudden burst of magical ability could be expected…

"I'd be more impressed if it weren't for that shitty one-liner." Samantha waved off, turning her head. Calem's mood dropped because of this.

"O-Oh come on.. Ivan and I came up with it together, it's great!" Calem assured, sticking up for the terrible one-liner. Tip giggled at this while Samantha scoffed, still seeming somewhat disgusted.

"Well, anyway… He's dead. Let's get back to the Commons and tell someone what happened." Samantha crossed her arms, side-stepping the topic of Calem's one-liner for now.

"I've never felt so justified for not going to a party before." Calem chuckled. "But, yeah! We got those teleports set up, right?"

Neil nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. Calem grinned, snapping his fingers and, in a flash, the centaur was gone. Samantha used her own teleport spell and, soon after, Tip used his with a smile on his face… Leaving the Ice Wizard, who stared at the pile of ash at the other end of the room.

… He couldn't have been defeated that easily, though… Something was up. This wasn't over.

Perhaps the attack on Wizard City was over, but… Neil felt this wasn't just a single battle for the city. This was something bigger. Lord Nightshade was connected to Malistaire somehow, and, that meant…

That meant that this wasn't just a battle; it was a war. Many more worlds would be affected…

Neil closed his eyes, using his teleport spell silently. He knew this wasn't over. This would never be over until...

Until that Fire Titan is sure to remain sound asleep…


	10. Interlude 1: Community and Thanks

**Hello! If you're reading this, then, hopefully, you've read through the first chapter of From the Spiral. From here on out, things will get much more tense, as we travel across Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu, and Dragonspyre!**

 **I've really been wanting to get involved with the Wizard101 Fanfiction community, so, for this interlude, I'm going to introduce myself and explain a few things about this story and the characters.**

 **First of all, my username is Tails-is-Pwnage, but most people call me 'Tip'. One of my first original characters is Tip Apprentice; and, despite his name, he is not a self-insert. He's a completely different person compared to me, in fact.**

 **I'm writing this story not only for my own personal benefit (This is currently what I'm calling my 'passion project'), but also so that I can try to make a few friends who are at least somewhat active in the W101 community. So please, if you do want to talk, PM me! I don't bite. And I'd love to talk about stories and such with you.**

 **Speaking of, I'd like to thank the Diamond Writer in particular for reviewing; you are the only person I didn't know before making this story. I'm happy you're enjoying what you're reading, and I hope we can become good friends in the future!**

 **Onto the story itself, From the Spiral is inspired by my roleplay, the Spiral Chronicles. In the Wizard101 Forums, the Spiral Chronicles is the top forum, with over 30k posts, made in mid-February. I'm very, very proud of it; my friends and I had such fun, and it was a wonderful story that ended on a great note.**

 **I'd like to thank Nicole Peach/Undyne for making a wonderful recap thread (Called "Salvus's Knowledge Crystal"), which summarizes the events of what happened in SC. If you're interested, please read through it! It was a fun adventure!**

 **After hosting that, it took me around six months to decide I wasn't going to get anywhere in the community by simply sitting on top of a forum. If I wanted to make some new friends in this community, I decided I was going to write a story of my own. Ta-da! From the Spiral was born.**

 **From the Spiral deals with the creation of wizards, an idea extended from the Spiral Chronicles. This idea is called 'Project101', and is always referred to as that in both SC and FtS. Despite this strange idea, I'm glad that this has still become a popular story; I figure that starting off with the creation of new life may put quite a few people off, but it seems that wasn't the case!**

 **From the Spiral contains nine main characters, all OCs of mine. Tip Apprentice, as mentioned earlier, is a very early character of mine. In all AUs and universes that I've come up with, he is always the 'creation', or the odd one out. His strengths include his incredible support magic alongside his kindness and goodwill towards others, though his weaknesses, such as his under-confidence and his constant worrying, pull him down tremendously. In battle, his Balance magic can be utilized to turn a battle around, but without the ability to attack, he's paying a high price.**

 **Brooke Summersong was made about two years ago; she is my take on the Fire School. Confident and friendly, Brooke's strengths are her tricky spells and happy nature. On the other hand, she's terrible with romance, is over-protective, and can snap at people easily. In battle, her aptitude for Fire will leave most enemies on their knees if she has the right support.**

 **Neil Frost is one of the older characters as well. As you may be able to guess by now, each character is reflected by their school; Brooke is strong and confident (Fire), Neil is silent and calculating (Ice), and Samantha is rude but courageous (Death). Neil is the most obvious example of this. Silent to the point of never talking unless needed, he's the most antisocial person in the group, but his intelligence is unmatched. In battle, his shields block most of the heavy damage, and he tends to almost always take the defensive support role, making sure his friends can survive any upcoming attacks.**

 **Grace Stormraven was made at around the same time Brooke was. She's a skeptical girl whose loyalty and sense of honor drives her character. However, her inability to trust some people and her short-sightedness makes her one of the more lonely people in the group; she's really only close to Brooke. Despite having a casual and happy personality, there's a lot more to her than just that.**

 **Calem Lifearrow was made shortly after Neil Frost. He's a powerful healer who looks like he should be on the front lines, but the centaur is happier healing his friends rather than attacking his enemies. He's incredibly strong, is a quick thinker, and has a charming, outgoing personality. Unfortunately, he's also not the brightest, and he's far too optimistic for his own good. In battle, he usually sticks to healing, but, especially as of late, he can switch to a fighter's role quickly and on very short notice.**

 **Ivan Mythblade was made after all of the others, but he's still been around for a while. Simply put, he's a man with a lot of talent. So much, in fact, that, if he actually utilized it, I imagine he'd be a Gary Stu; too much power, not enough weakness. However, his primary character flaw is his laziness, which is amped up to massive extremes. Ivan is hardly ever found doing anything for anyone, and he tends to find most things 'boring' or uninteresting. He almost never battles; instead, he has Talos do all of the heavy lifting for him. But who knows what aces he might be hiding…? Being someone with such limitless potential, Ivan tends to only put his powers to use when a great deal of conditions are met. Just because the Spiral's burning doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it…**

 **Samantha Nightspear is probably the most normal Death student ever. Well, for a Death student's standards. She's cold and calculating, like Neil, but she tends to talk more, having a rash, crude attitude that can sometimes either help the group or send them out the door. Despite her rude behavior, she's a valuable asset to the team, able to fill in any role at a moment's notice.**

 **Garrett Apprentice was originally named Garrett Mythblade, but he had no relation to Ivan Mythblade. Instead, he was used in a couple of roleplays before I transferred him to this story, and he has a unique history, just like Gizmo. However, in all AUs and universes, Garrett and Gizmo are always brothers. Garrett is the more mischievous brother; he tends to be a thief and a rogue, always side-stepping the law and causing trouble. He has a sly, feline-like nature and is one of the more laid-back characters.**

 **Gizmo Apprentice was originally named Gizmo Mythblade, but he, too, had no relation to Ivan Mythblade. He was used in a roleplay called the Sacred Treasures, which was an awesome experience. He's a holy knight to the core, always trying to do the right thing and please the gods of whichever world he's in. He fights for what he believes is right and keeps a steady sword hand.**

 **Throughout the story, I hope you all get to know these characters more! They're all close to my heart.**

 **Anyway. Thank you all for reading! Feel free to visit the Spiral Chronicles chat thread if you wanna talk!**

 **I hope you'll stay with the story and enjoy what you read! Tell me through reviews and PMs if there's anything you like, dislike, or etc.!**

 **~Tip**

 **P.S.: Chapter 2-1 will hopefully be published on Friday, but due to life troubles, I may not be able to post it until Sunday.**


	11. Chapter 2-1: The Oasis

**From the Spiral - Chapter 2-1**

 _After the events in Wizard City, Malistaire is making a big move to awaken the Fire Titan. As the gods of the Spiral begin to get involved, how will things play out for the nine young souls?_

 _BALANCE - Tip Apprentice_

 _FIRE - Brooke Summersong_

 _ICE - Neil Frost_

 _STORM - Grace Stormraven_

 _LIFE - Calem Lifearrow_

 _MYTH - Ivan Mythblade_

 _DEATH - Samantha Nightspear_

 _KNIGHT - Gizmo Apprentice_

 _THIEF - Garrett Apprentice_

 _This story is made possible by my wonderful friends, who have helped me through the toughest of times and, in the most quietest of times, have made me feel like I'm not alone._

* * *

"Oh come on, give me a break!"

Calem was exasperated. Within one of the arena's many training rooms, the centaur laid down on his hooves, his human body seeming somewhat limp as he tried to catch his breath. He was very tired… After yesterday, with Lord Nightshade's defeat, Neil and Samantha apparently had a chat, which resulted in both of them not believing that Calem could've defeated the wraith that easily. And now, they were pushing the centaur to his limits, seeing if he could pull off that amount of magical strength again.

"But you must've gotten that burst of magic power from somewhere!" Samantha glared, crossing her arms. "There's no way it was just because of the adrenaline rush…"

Neil was examining a dummy that Calem was practicing on earlier. He silently checked it out, frowning and taking a few notes.

Neil Frost was no fool. He knew that something was up with that battle. He bought Spirit Blade and Balanceblade treasure cards with a bit of gold he'd been saving up; luckily, Neil almost never felt the need to buy anything other than more notebooks and writing utensils, so he had a good amount of cash saved up for these kinds of experiments.

Earlier, he used these cards on Samantha as she practiced against a dummy. She used Deathblade on herself and used the same attack she used on Lord Nightshade. Neil examined the damage afterwards; the dummies were made to help measure the amount of damage a specific magic attack may deal against an enemy. Samantha's attack was powerful, to be sure, but in that battle from earlier… That only hurt Lord Nightshade for half of his health.

And considering the fact that Neil's Blizzard spell hardly did anything... Right now, they were just trying to see how Calem did away with the other half of Lord Nightshade's health with only the Spirit Blades spell. No matter how well Calem did, however, every time Neil examined the dummy, he would come up with damage that shouldn't have beaten Lord Nightshade, Spirit Blades or not. He couldn't match the damage Samantha dealt to another dummy earlier, which equated to half of the wraith's health. Ultimately, it just made no sense.

Well, it didn't make sense for a minute. But as Calem and Samantha bickered in the background, Neil wrote notes to himself, thinking… And suddenly, it came to him. What if he didn't see what he thought he saw during that battle?

It was the only possibility. Calem Lifearrow didn't get all that power from nowhere. Those Spirit Blades that were used on him by Tip must've been something else, right?

He had to do some research. Putting his blue pen on his ear, Neil shut his notebook, frowning. Besides Tip, he knew there was someone he could talk to right away to see if he was correct…

The Ice wizard left the room, leaving the other two students to argue.

"W-well it wasn't my fault I got a bunch of power all of the sudden! Can't I take a break!?"

"Hell no! I want to see you do that again! Keep going!"

* * *

Neil Frost made his way to Ravenwood, silently checking around. Lots of students were chatting with each other; friendly talks, heated arguments, mindless babble… He didn't let the noise distract him. He kept his hood up, hoping nobody would bother him as he searched for someone.

Ah, right. There they were. In front of Bartleby was Professor Arthur, a brown, humanoid dog. He seemed to be a Dachshund, perhaps… To be honest, Neil didn't know dog breeds that well, so he couldn't couldn't really tell. He shrugged it off, walking up to the professor, opening his notebook to a certain page.

"Oh? Hello, Neil." The Professor smiled. He managed to remember Neil's name, having met him through Greyrose once. Apparently he was very talented, able to learn some very hard Ice spells very easily… But what could he want with a Balance professor like him?

He frowned as Neil showed him a page of his notebook. Taking it, the dog put a paw on his chin, interpreting what was written on it.

There were various notes about the power of Spirit Blades. The Professor blinked, surprised at how accurate some of the data was; Neil had managed to mathematically determine that the Spirit Blades spell boosted one's next Life/Myth/Death magic spell by approximately 35%. The math behind support was something Arthur did enjoy teaching his students, but to see someone experiment to find out what the percentage was for themselves… Well, it was impressive.

But the problem seemed to be that someone used a type of Spirit Blades that did more than 35%. Now, Arthur was a clever dog, but, unfortunately, he wasn't up to date on the news of Project101; nobody bothered to tell him that Tip was associating with a new group of friends, and that, of those friends, Neil Frost was included. So, not seeing the consequences of giving Neil the answer, Professor Arthur smiled.

"Ah, right… I have heard rumors of stronger Balance support spells that look quite a bit like the originals. It's possible that one of those spells were used… But I can't imagine anyone knowing any of those without either somehow finding Treasure Cards for it, or, perhaps…" Arthur thought to himself for a moment. Neil looked straight at him expectantly, crossing his arms.

"... Ah, right! Well, there's been talk that many of today's strongest Balance spells come from Krokotopia." He smiled. "In fact, did you know that Marleybonian archaeologists are exploring many of Krokotopia's oldest ruins now in search of answers about the history of the Mander race? They think that the Manders' and the Kroks' history holds the key to where Balance magic comes from!"

Now that was definitely news to Neil. He had heard of Krokotopia before; the desert locale was home to two races. The Manders were reptilians, and, from what he heard, they were very gentle, kind creatures. It was their inherent kindness which made them subject to the Kroks' rule… The Kroks were another reptilian race which made the Manders their slaves. However, now, Krokotopia was at peace, as the Kroks had disappeared, and now all that's left are a few Manders. But he never thought that the world could be connected to Balance magic in some way…

An interesting thought occurred to him. Perhaps Tip is somehow connected to Krokotopia? That strange staff, the possibility of him knowing advanced Balance magic… Neil frowned. It was just a theory for now.

"Thank you." He mumbled, taking his notebook and nodding to the Professor. Sadly, he didn't get what he wanted; Arthur was only able to supply him with rumors and the possibility of greater Balance magic being in Krokotopia. If only Neil could go there, himself, to see if there was a stronger version of the Spirit Blades spell…

…

Perhaps there was a way…

* * *

In the center of Ravenwood Academy, the Great Tree Bartleby thought to himself, as he always did; it was a rare day when he felt the need to talk to someone. Most of the time, his only real communication with the outside world was through Headmaster Ambrose, or from the rare times when Grandmother Raven could get in contact with him.

But yesterday was a special occasion. A different, shady person had come to talk to him… They mentioned Grandmother Raven, and something about how there was a monster called Lord Nightshade in the Haunted Cave; honestly, if it hadn't been for the figure's mention of Grandmother Raven, Bartleby would've assumed it was a prank. But the person's knowledge, alongside that honest attitude, managed to convince the old god that he should tell someone. From what he'd heard from the many kids talking around Ravenwood, it seemed that he made the right choice; Lord Nightshade was real, and he was defeated by a rag-tag group of students.

Bartleby longed to talk to Grandmother Raven now; as the only two remaining gods in the Spiral, they had decided to separate and weaken their powers so that they would not be tempted to use them for their own gain. Instead, they wanted to act as guides for the rest of the Spiral… However, sometimes, Bartleby thought that was a little silly; they could've at least stayed in the same world. Though perhaps it was for the best; Grandmother Raven was a bit wiser than him, after all.

That wasn't to say Bartleby wasn't wise, either. He wanted to say quite a bit on this Project101 subject, but, it seemed nobody was willing to seek his guidance. For the first time in years, Headmaster Ambrose hadn't seeked his guidance when an important issue came up; perhaps it was because he wanted to prove that he could keep things under control by himself, but wasn't the Headmaster a little too smart for that?

"Um… Excuse me?"

The Life god had his thoughts interrupted. He glanced down with his one good eye, noticing a young man wearing mostly black. It was Garrett Apprentice, one of the subjects of Project101, who was messing with his crossbow, looking up at the Great Tree.

"Yo, uh… I heard you have a World Door in you?" Garrett frowned, sounding uncertain. He felt pretty weird, talking to a tree; he was told he was some sort of 'god', but, to Garrett, this tree just looked like some old, weak creature on its last limbs… Er, roots. Whatever.

"..." Bartleby didn't answer. This boy seemed like just another disrespectful teenager; was he really one of Ambrose's last hopes? The tree stared down at Garrett, judging him.

"... Well, uh… Could you let me through?" Garrett put his crossbow away, crossing his arms. "My brothers will be here in a bit, and we kinda got to get moving to somewhere…"

"..."

"... Please?"

Bartleby was getting so tired of servicing a bunch of disrespectful students… Only a select few people interested the old Life god, and he was happy to allow access to the World Door for them. But for others, he always felt that letting them pass through was disrespectful to the honor that comes with using a World Door.

He had come up with the idea for World Doors. Back when he and Grandmother Raven put the Titans to sleep and created the Spiral, he connected the worlds through small doors. Every last piece of floating land had a door, and every door had several keys. If you have a World Door Key for a certain world, you could use a World Door to go to that world. Bartleby did this to ensure that everyone couldn't go to all of the different worlds too easily; chaos would ensue, and the doors would be used so frequently that his powerful would be drained within days.

But with keys being a rarity, he didn't have to open the way to his sanctuary often. The World Door of Wizard City was inside him, in a sanctuary he made within himself. It was crafted with fine oak wood, with glimmering, light green lights and various plants and vines… Anyone who got to enter was granted an honor.

An honor he hated granting to disrespectful young men such as this one. But, Bartleby was kind; he decided to open the way.

A small slab of wood slid out of the way, revealing a tunnel leading into Bartleby. Garrett grinned at this, nodding in thanks to Bartleby before rushing in.

Bartleby slid the sanctuary shut, waiting for these two 'brothers'. He hadn't been formally introduced to them before. He watched and waited for a minute…

And, sure enough, they came. A Balance wizard and an apparent knight.

Expecting nothing disrespect again, Bartleby was tempted to simply open the way to his sanctuary again before they could say anything, hoping they would just go on through, but he decided to hear what they may say; perhaps they'll be different.

Gizmo smiled, motioning for Tip to stay behind him as he walked up to the Great Tree. He kneeled on his left knee, placing his sword on the ground and bowing his head.

"G-Great Tree Bartleby… Please let us through to your sanctuary. My brother and I need to stop a sinister plot in another world." The boy spoke nervously. Gizmo, unlike Garrett, had a lot of respect for gods, to the point where he was already cursing himself for misspeaking on the first word. He didn't want to look like a fool in front of one of the creators of the world…

Well. Bartleby certainly hadn't expected that. He might've, had he been with his old powers, but… Ignoring that, it was nice to see a kid with at least some respect.

He opened the way, and Gizmo smiled, entering the sanctuary with Tip right behind him. Perhaps there was a little bit of hope in this 'Project101' after all; but, respectful or not, he, too, was becoming convinced that the trio wasn't enough…

Well. Not like his opinion mattered anymore. He was just an old tree in the middle of a magic academy…

* * *

Garrett entered the sanctuary, heading for the center of the beautiful, old room. There was a lone door, standing on a small, wooden platform. The thief smirked, waiting for his brothers.

They had received a new mission. After yesterday's events, Ambrose decided there wasn't anymore time to train. The old man had discovered that, to awaken the Fire Titan, Malistaire would require a very powerful staff… And apparently, such a staff was hidden somewhere in Krokotopia.

There was some sorta archaeologist's project or something going on there, too, apparently… Garrett hadn't paid too much attention. He left early after hearing there was going to be somebody there who could enchant his and Gizmo's weapons. Like hell he was going to stand around knowing he could get a new kick to his crossbow! Maybe he'd be able to do more than just stand outside of the WDC, shooting at the same enemy repeatedly like he did in Unicorn Way…

Anyway, apparently, after they got their enchantments, they had to find the staff and bring it back. Sounded simple enough. It was a way to keep Malistaire from summoning the Fire Titan without fighting him. As long as they could get to that staff first…

Garrett watched as Gizmo and Tip walked into the sanctuary, grinning.

"Yo." He smirked. Gizmo sighed, seeming a little annoyed.

"Why'd you just run out? Do you have no patience?" The knight frowned, crossing his arms. Tip stayed silent, watching as his brothers talked. He hadn't been around them much anymore, especially not after he got wrapped up in that group of friends, but… Now, Tip wanted to get to know them better, and, perhaps, he could have the others forget about him for a little bit. At least until this Malistaire business was over…

They didn't need to get involved anymore.

"What? I got excited." Garrett shrugged his brother's criticism off. "Got the key?"

"..." Gizmo sighed, shrugging and taking a golden key with the icon of a pyramid engraved onto it. "Yeah. Let's go."

He walked up to the door, with Garrett and Tip looking expectantly at him as he placed the key into the door's keyhole, twisting it. A clicking sound was heard, and the knight, smiling, pulled the key out, opening the door…

* * *

"We're seriously going to Krokotopia?"

Brooke couldn't believe it. As she, Grace and Neil entered the sanctuary and Neil twirled a golden key in his hand, she tried to take this all in. The Fire wizard hadn't been to another world before… And now that she and her friends might actually be going to one just to research advanced Balance magic was insane.

But why was Neil suddenly so interested in that topic? Usually he just stuck to Ice, not bothering with any of the other schools… It was weird. But she didn't question it; she was too excited!

Neil Frost nodded in response to Brooke's question. He stood next to the door, checking over to see if the two girls he brought along were ready.

Calem and Samantha were busy in the arena, and, frankly, Neil didn't want to disturb them. He usually didn't care, but Frost figured that they would be too tired anyway. He might have asked Ivan to help out, but... Neil didn't trust him on missions such as these; he'd just have Talos do all the work and then he'd go to sleep somewhere.

Meanwhile, he had tried looking for Tip, but he was nowhere to be seen. He was hoping that the Balance wizard would at least talk to him about what happened in that battle yesterday, but it seemed Neil would simply have to look for answers in this desert world.

So that's how he got these two. He thought this was a bad idea, honestly. He didn't trust these two to stay on task 100%, and they could be a little short-tempered. But if he did run into any trouble in Krokotopia, they would be helpful.

"So you can do some research in some library or whatever and Brooke and I can go explore, right?" Grace's eyes shined. She always wanted to explore a new world. Neil nodded silently, allowing this; despite the fact that he didn't trust them completely on this trip, he didn't want them to just stick around him the whole time. Perhaps they'd find something useful in their own 'exploration'... Which he suspected would just consist of bugging the Manders and swimming around in the Oasis.

Wonderful.

The boy shook his head, inserting the key into the door and twisting it, causing the a 'click' sound. He opened the door…

* * *

Krokotopia is a beautiful desert landscape, but it's also known as one of the most destroyed worlds. Being connected by several wooden bridges, Krokotopia is made up of several floating islands. There were four main islands; the first was the Oasis, which was connected to all other islands one way or another. The Oasis, aptly named, houses a light blue body of water, crystal clear and very alluring. It was free for public use.

The second island held the Pyramid of Fire. This large pyramid was currently being investigated by the Marleybonian Archaeologists' Society (MAS), who were stationed in a large camp outside. A very tall flag with the image of two bones crossed together and a bronze shield showed that this camp belonged to Marleybone. The Manders were happy to have them here, and they didn't cause trouble, so they were allowed to look through the old ruins all they wished.

The third island contained the Krokosphinx. It was a large, sandstone tribute to the Kroks; although nobody knows why it's there, nobody dares to enter the ancient ruins for fear of ghosts and other such monsters. One can get to the Krokosphinx by riding on an enchanted boat, driven by a light blue Mander who everyone tended to just call 'Captain'.

The final island… Was nowhere to be found. Nobody knew where it was, but legend was that it existed. Some Manders didn't believe the legend, but a few accepted it as truth; one Mander in particular is very adamant about it... The only hints are some strange relics near the Oasis…

Not that the Apprentice family cared much for finding some missing island. Right now, their goal was a powerful staff, and it seemed to them that the best way to find it was to ask the people who were already scavenging around the world. Gizmo led the way as the trio walked to the Pyramid of Fire, where the MAS camp was.

"So we're getting our enchants after we talk to these guys, right?" Garrett asked excitedly. "'Cause I think, y'know, we'll need 'em before we go into some old ruins."

"You just want a new toy to play with." Gizmo scoffed skeptically, rolling his eyes. "But… Yeah, we're going to. Actually, why don't you two let me handle talking to everyone?"

"Why..?" Tip frowned, looking up at Gizmo. The knight scratched the back of his head, trying to find a way to explain this.

"Well, um… I think I'm most… Capable, for this situation." He coughed. In other words, Garrett was rude and Tip was terrible at conversation in general. If anyone was going to get any information out of these people, it'd be Gizmo.

"Ah, c'mon, they're dogs. How hard can they be to talk to?" Garrett smirked, waving Gizmo's claim off.

"Marleybonians are very sophisticated. You are not." Gizmo half-glared, shaking his head. "Trust me on this, okay? I'll get us our information and we can go get those enchants. It's faster this way."

"..." Garrett wasn't completely convinced. But if it would be faster… Fine… He sighed. "K. Tippy and I'll stay here then. G'luck." The thief grinned, placing his hands in his pockets. Gizmo nodded, leaving the group.

They were on the island with the Pyramid of Fire now. The Pyramid of Fire was huge, to say the least; it was a massive sandstone marvel, with perfect slopes on four sides… It also had a large entrance in the front, with statues of Kroks that were painted with red lines.

The Apprentice stood with Garrett, watching as Gizmo walked over to the camp. There were a lot of white tents, all with varying sizes, seemingly meant for different things. There was a tent for storage, some sort of meeting tent, a large amount of sleeping tents… And dogs. Dogs everywhere. Well, humanoid dogs. There were a few male and female dogs, with some Beagles, Golden Retrievers, and other breeds. It was a dog-lover's paradise… If the dog-lover in question also liked their dogs tall, human-like, and intelligent.

"So, Tip." Garrett began, smirking as he looked down at the Balance wizard. "I think you and I need to have a chat."

"Huh?... A-about what…?" Tip blinked, looking up at the thief. Garrett simply kept smirking, seeming calm and casual.

"Well… I think you've got some problems with your confidence." He grinned. "And, y'know what? I decided that, as your brother, I've gotta help with that! So I'm gonna show you a prime example of confidence!"

"A-a prime example..?" Tip repeated, staring in confusion as Garrett's enthusiasm grew.

"Yep! Alright, check this shit out- lemme see…" Garrett scanned the crowd of dogs. "Ah! There."

He pointed to a female dog, wearing tan shorts, a brown belt, and a white, collared top with a red ribbon. She seemed to be a Border Collie, with black and white fur.

"Now lemme show you how a confident person goes about this." The thief pat Tip's shoulder before walking up to the Marleybonian. She was holding a checklist, peering into a storage tent.

Tip watched carefully as Garrett slyly skidded in front of her, starting to strike up a conversation.

"Hey." He smiled, putting his left hand in his pocket as he looked into the surprised dog's light blue eyes. "How's it going?"

"O-Oh!" The Collie blinked; she hadn't seen a human in a long time, it seemed. "Oh, I'm fine, um… Who are you?"

"Garrett. Garrett Apprentice." The thief grinned, taking her left hand, leaning over, and kissing the back of her palm. "And you are..?"

This incited a giggle from the woman, having never seen such a strange human. "I'm Kelly! It's so nice to meet you, Garrett."

"The pleasure's all mine!" He smiled, keeping a hold on her hand. "So, Kelly, do you have any free time tonight..? I'd like to get to know you."

Kelly's face reddened. "W-well, I believe so, yes-"

"Great! See you here again tonight." Garrett didn't stop to hear anything else, as if he already knew she was going to agree. Giving the dog a peck on the cheek, he slipped away, disappearing through the other tents.

"..." Tip just sort of stared at the scene, with the Collie seeming just as struck, before getting a tap on the shoulder. Turning around, Garrett was right behind him, grinning.

"And that's what confidence can do for ya." He laughed. "See how easy that was?"

"U-Um… Garrett…" Tip blinked, frowning. "... U-um, not to be rude… B-but… You just got a date with a dog…"

"Don't kinkshame me, bro." Garrett crossed his arms, a little red.

"Kinkshame…?" The Balance wizard tried to puzzle the word out, causing Garrett to sigh in frustration. The thief shook his head, keeping himself together.

"Never mind. I made my point." He shrugged, smiling. "So, when we're done with this whole adventure, I expect you to be able to do that, too."

"Wh-what!?" Tip's eyes widened. "B-but, I mean… That…"

His face was completely red, with various objections coming to mind. But Garrett wouldn't hear any of it, so he pat the boy's head, calming him down.

"Don't worry. You won't have to date a dog." He winked. "Buuut I'll find a hot human for ya! That's a promise!"

"I-I…" Tip, still flustered, could hardly say anything. It was then that Gizmo returned to the group; he seemed a little disgruntled.

"Hey." He walked up to the two, interrupting their conversation. "So, I checked a few guys, and they're all saying that the one in charge is Professor Winthrop. Apparently, if anyone knows where a powerful artifact should be, it's him."

"Cool! Let's just get this done by sundown, eh?" Garrett grinned, putting his hands in his pockets. "I've got a date."

"... What?" Gizmo raised an eyebrow, looking down at Tip, as if expecting him to give the knight an answer. The Apprentice, still red, shook his head softly, as if saying that Gizmo didn't want to know.

"... Alright, fine. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours." He sighed, shrugging. "Let's go."

He began to lead the trio towards the entrance of the pyramid. Garrett gave Tip a light pat on the back before moving on, with the Balance wizard taking a moment to get himself back together before following his siblings.

It was going to be a looooong day…

* * *

It was going to be a looooong day…

Brooke and Grace had immediately ran off somewhere, leaving Neil Frost to himself. Finding them was going to be annoying, but, shrugging it off, he started heading in the direction of a large building; one that he assumed to be the library. As he walked towards it, he heard a strange, familiar sound…

The sound of a distant… Snoring…?

Neil glanced around, following the sound. It was coming from the Oasis. He made his way there quickly, not believing his ears. Could it be..?

It could. And it was.

Ivan Mythblade was sleeping next to a palm tree, snoring peacefully. Neil simply stared.

How did Ivan get here..? What was he doing here…? The Ice wizard shook his head, deciding he wanted to demand answers. He snapped his fingers in front of Ivan, squatting down near the boy.

"Huh..?" Ivan yawned, slowly opened his eyes and looking over to Neil. "Sup…?"

Neil simply glared. His questions should be clear. He didn't even need to say anything. Ivan, in response, simply smiled softly.

"What? World Door Keys aren't that rare, y'know… You got one… Somehow…" The boy yawned. "I happen to have a small… Collection…"

"..." Neil's glare didn't end. He wanted to know why Ivan was here, too.

"What? I've gotta have a lot of hiding places from Cyrus." The Myth student grinned softly. "This is one of 'em. Now c'mon, leave me be; I wanna see if the girls go swimming…"

Neil rolled his eyes. Typical Ivan. Lazy and a pervert. Deciding he wasn't worth the Ice wizard's time anymore, Neil walked away, leaving him alone.

"... Heh…" Ivan smirked, making himself comfy under the palm tree again. "Yeah, I could get used to this place…"


End file.
